Banks asked to follow uniform format in new account opening
FE Report | Wednesday, 2 July 2008
The central bank has asked the commercial banks to strictly follow a uniform format in reporting on 'Know Your Customer (KYC)' and opening of new accounts from January 1, 2009 to bring discipline in the sector, officials said.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) issued a directive Tuesday in this connection and asked the chief executives of all commercial banks to develop the format by December 31, 2008.
The central bank took the move aiming to curb illegal fund transfer through strengthening its monitoring and supervision, they added.
"We have prepared a sample format in line with the bankers' recommendations aiming to encourage their clients to provide such information," a BB senior official told the FE on the day.
He also said the central bank has sent the format to the commercial banks, which may follow it from now along with the existing one.
Currently, banks are using different forms for preparing KYC profiles on the basis of information provided by the account holders.
"The banks will have to follow the uniform format for reporting on KYC and opening of new accounts from January 1, 2009," the official noted.
The banks may collect more information from their clients if necessary, he added.
The central bank also asked the banks to inform about the steps taken for introduction of the uniform format to the department concerned of the BB by July 31, 2008.
The BB has already instructed the banks to properly maintain 'the transaction profile method' that deals with the opening of any account under KYC system and prevent suspicious transactions.
The financial institutions will have to inform the Anti-money Laundering Department of the central bank instantly if it detects any suspicious transaction.
According to the Anti-money Laundering Ordinance 2008, the BB will now be able to penalise banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) anywhere between Tk 10,000 and Tk 0.5 million for failure to submit reports related to money laundering.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) issued a directive Tuesday in this connection and asked the chief executives of all commercial banks to develop the format by December 31, 2008.
The central bank took the move aiming to curb illegal fund transfer through strengthening its monitoring and supervision, they added.
"We have prepared a sample format in line with the bankers' recommendations aiming to encourage their clients to provide such information," a BB senior official told the FE on the day.
He also said the central bank has sent the format to the commercial banks, which may follow it from now along with the existing one.
Currently, banks are using different forms for preparing KYC profiles on the basis of information provided by the account holders.
"The banks will have to follow the uniform format for reporting on KYC and opening of new accounts from January 1, 2009," the official noted.
The banks may collect more information from their clients if necessary, he added.
The central bank also asked the banks to inform about the steps taken for introduction of the uniform format to the department concerned of the BB by July 31, 2008.
The BB has already instructed the banks to properly maintain 'the transaction profile method' that deals with the opening of any account under KYC system and prevent suspicious transactions.
The financial institutions will have to inform the Anti-money Laundering Department of the central bank instantly if it detects any suspicious transaction.
According to the Anti-money Laundering Ordinance 2008, the BB will now be able to penalise banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) anywhere between Tk 10,000 and Tk 0.5 million for failure to submit reports related to money laundering.