Top 3 strangest questions from the bank that we encountered

Over 8 years of working with accounts abroad, Antwort Law is accustomed to the most non-standard questions from banks. It's hard to surprise us, but the next three requests did it. We talk about them and, looking ahead, note that the correct answers have been found and clients are still successfully served in these banks.

Question No. 1: let's start with the most "romantic" question - the bank wanted to find out from our client, a business owner, the history of his acquaintance with the company's director. Two key people in the company are citizens and residents of different countries, and the company itself was registered in a third. When opening the account, the manager was interested in the circumstances under which such an interesting acquaintance occurred and how it led to joint work.

Answer: We gave a detailed explanation of this circumstance, explaining that the founder and director met at an international conference in the company field, discovered common interests, and discussed plans for the future. The director wanted to leave the corporation for a new, dynamically developing direction, and the founder was looking for a person with extensive experience, ready for the workload and dynamics of a startup.

Note: the dating history of key company employees was subsequently requested from us several more times. Therefore, you may have to answer a similar question from a banker. Be prepared to back up your words. For example, one day, the bank even asked for badges from a conference and joint photos taken at it.

Question No. 2: the bank asked our client, an IT company, to send a piece of code that it created for its customers. Perhaps bank employees did not even read it, since they do not have the appropriate expertise. However, they wanted to ensure the company provided the IT services it claimed.

Answer: the client sent the code, and we wrote a detailed accompanying commentary explaining the specifics of the contract under which it was created.

Note: if you are an IT company, be prepared that the bank will want to see technical evidence of your work under a specific contract. They must be provided upon first request and as soon as possible.

… Laws often require bankers to verify the "reality" of transactions carried out by clients for which settlements occur through their bank. For businesses in the field of supplies or performing material work, answering these requests is relatively easy since confirming the movement of goods or completing, say, construction work is quite easy. If your business is based on providing services that do not have a direct material "expression", for example, IT, marketing, or consulting, be prepared to receive all sorts of "creative" questions from your bankers. So, if you have provided advertising services on the Internet, you can expect the bank to ask you to send screenshots of the advertising banners you have placed, or something similar … Vladyslav Makarenko, Managing Partner, Antwort Law

Question No. 3: the bank requested from our client, a chemical exporting company, a license for a logistics company to transport dangerous goods since it was delivering them. At the same time, this logistics company was hired and paid not by our client but by their buyer.

Answer: even though our client had no direct relationship with the logistics company, we insisted that the client ask his buyer to take a license from their service provider and send it to us.

Note: Always maintain good partnerships with your contractors, clients, and partners, as you may have to ask them for non-standard documents that may not be directly relevant to you.

There are many more interesting requests from bankers than the standard list you can find on the Internet suggests. Each bank employs people with different approaches to information processing and different levels of creativity.

However, no matter what information the bank requests from you, it is in your best interest to provide as detailed and objective an answer as possible. In addition to collecting facts and evidence, it is important to connect, describe, and present them correctly. It is equally important to accurately determine what is best to emphasize and what is better not to mention.

We help our clients open foreign accounts and find a common language with banks and payment systems. With the support of Antwort Law specialists, you can avoid pitfalls in banking services, respond to unusual requests, extend the service period, and become a valuable client for the bank.

Lidia Ivanova,

International Lawyer
Antwort Law