Opening an Offshore Bank Account

All companies require a bank account in order to be able to do business, but opening accounts is becoming increasingly difficult due to international transparency and anti-money laundering initiatives. Many banks will no longer open accounts for non-resident companies. Others will only open accounts for clients that have been introduced by a recognised and licensed service provider that is on their ‘approved list’.

All banks now undertake increased due diligence – not just when opening accounts but also on a transactional basis. Account opening procedures differ widely between banks, sometimes even between different branches of the same bank. Applications can be complicated and documents often have to be certified or notarised and translated.

Sovereign has longstanding relationships with many banks in Hong Kong and offshores, such as Singapore and Mauritius and it is strongly recommended that we, as your company secretary, assist with bank introductions and the preparation and submission of the necessary documentation. Clients are, of course, free to choose their own banks but generally an account can be opened more quickly and on better terms at banks known to, and recommended by, Sovereign.

Sovereign cannot accept responsibility for the stability or solvency of individual banks. An introduction by Sovereign should not be taken as an endorsement of the bank or any guarantee that an account application will be successful.