Banks Impose Cumbersome
Requirements To Open An
Account
Opening a bank account
or getting a loan
approved has become more
difficult as banks
impose cumbersome
requirements of their
would be clients.
Some financial
institutions required
certifications or
specific records, like a
death certificate,
rental agreement and
personal information on
family members for some
transaction, which goes
beyond the policies set
out in the “Conozca a su
cliente” (know your
client) which is
contained in Ley #8204.
The regulations
stipulate that financial
institutions can require
information, from either
a person or corporation
- such as residency,
business activity, and
the types of
transactions that the
account will be used
for.
The additional
requirements demanded by
some banks to simply
open an account mean an
extra cost to the
consumer.
The financial
institutions justify the
additional requirements
as way of corroborating
the information provided
by the potential
customer in an attempt
to protect themselves
against fraud and money
laundering.
The Banco Nacional and
Scotiabank, the largest
of the public and
private banks,
respectively, say they
adhere to the norms in
Ley #8204 and only in
specific cases do they
ask for additional
documentation, if
necessary.
As for the
Superintendencia General
de Entidades Financieras
(Sugef) - banking
regulator - they say
that all they ask of the
financial institutions
is to comply with
“Conozca a su cliente”
policy. Óscar Rodríguez,
superintendent of banks,
said that each financial
institution is free to
require or demand
information they deem
necessary and cannot
tell the banks what they
should and shouldn't ask
of their customers.
Rodríguez added that it
is up to each bank if
they are going to
provide a potential
customer services and
can deny a service if
the customer does not
comply with the
additional requirements
requested of them.
The bank superintendent
said that in some cases
the bank employees say
that the additional
requirements being asked
of the customer is a
requirement of Sugef,
when it is not clearly
the case.
One item that Rodríguez
points out is the
'credit history' form
that banks ask customers
to sign. The credit
history goes back the
last four years.
Rodríguez said that
customers do not have to
sign the form, having
acquired the right not
to sign by a decision of
the Sala IV which
guarantees privacy.
However, financial
institutions can request
a credit check without
authorization of the
customer, although all
they can obtain is basic
information. The
authorization is based
on the regulation "Reglamento
de Calificación de
Deudores de la Sugef".
The reality is that a
customer wanting to open
a savings account, be it
a private or public
bank, may be asked in
addition to the basics
of the cedula or
passport and/or orden
patronal (employment
record), to provide a
utility bill, the rental
agreement, marital
status and much more,
depending on the
institution.
In the case of a loan
request the
documentation required
is much more
complicated, that can
include financial
statements certified by
a public accountant,
marriage or death
certificate, etc. |
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