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What is bank reference letter?
A bank reference is a letter from bank where you have account. Letter is stating that you are their customer for a certain period of years. A bank reference should also confirm that banking relationship has been acceptable, without any defaults from your part. A bank reference is a standardized document, well known to all bankers, so they will not be surprised when you ask for it. A bank reference should be nothing more than just an informative letter, stating that the bank knows you for certain period of time as a decent customer.
For KYC and due diligence purposes, the reason for the bank reference is to establish that the particular person is an ordinary, economically active member of the society and that the identity and address can be confirmed by an independent, reputable financial institution.
Why bank reference letter needed
Bank reference is requested to avoid fraudulent attempts to register an offshore company in the name of a non-existing or a dead person or in the name of individual, who might just have sold his passport. It is quite improbable that any of such individuals would have a long-standing banking relationship. Therefore, appearance of such individuals as beneficial owners of a new IBC would be a signal to look more closely into the overall circumstances of the registration order.
How do I get bank reference letter
This letter should be in English and should have most of the answers on the following questions:
- Full contacts of bank
- Date account opened.
- Name of person or company having an account and address.
- Type of account.
- General recommendations as to character, business qualifications, etc.
- Name of bank officer and their title.
- Date of issuing of letter.
Download template of bank reference letter.