Account opening then and now
Dr. Dimitrios Karathanassis
In: ContraLegem 2018/1, S. 50ff.
- The complexity of opening an account
- Increasing compliance requirements make it difficult to open accounts at Swiss banking institutions in terms of time and material. A field report.
How information (should) make the world a better place
At that time
I can still remember my first account opening. The summer holidays had started a few days ago and I had, a few days after my 16th birthday. Birthday, just started my first summer job in a small industrial company. After a welcome by the supervisor, I was asked to fill out various documents. One of the pages was titled „banking relationship “ and slightly bashfully I had to admit on record that I did not have one. With a smile I was advised to open one, because salaries would not be paid in cash. Fearing for my future wages, I ran home right after work to ask my parents for advice. My father picked up the phone and half an hour later we entered the branch of a bank in the village square. The store manager, a nice elderly gentleman, greeted my father warmly and then turned to me, then invited us both into his office, which had the charm of the 60s. He was still breathing for years. The store manager kindly asked me how old I was, where I went to school, what my favorite subjects were and if I had any hobbies. I answered his questions kindly, but did not understand them as relevant for the account opening, but more than the usual questions that adults ask children, if their real interest is their parents and a certain kindness towards the children is part of the good manners. I was then told, since I had not yet reached the age of majority, that my father would be a co-beneficiary of the account (which made me wonder, since it was my money that was supposed to flow into the account ). ) but that I could otherwise freely dispose of it. I was presented with two pages that I had to sign, one of which contained the terms and conditions. After giving my full name , I was asked to sign right away. I could leave the second field with the address blank, you would already have it through my parents. Finally, I was asked if I wanted a bank card, I would have to make another signature for this purpose. After twenty minutes, my dad and I left the bench and I felt like growing up would be easy.
Today
Years later, with a Ius degree and the bar exam in between, I was asked by a client to assist him in discussions with a bank. Not far from the parade ground, on a rainy afternoon, there are seven of us, both of us and five bank representatives, sitting in one of these elegant premises of the bank , which is more reminiscent of the 50s. than global banking, FATCA and AEOI. Basically , it is about the establishment of a banking relationship and the account opening for a stock corporation held by the customer alone. He himself is a Colombian citizen, but has been living in Switzerland for over 20 years and has been a customer of the said bank ever since.
After initial niceties are exchanged and the café is served, the following conversation begins, which is only incompletely reproduced here:
B: Thank you for choosing us.
K: Well, I’ve been a customer of yours for a long time and I’m very satisfied.
B:Yes, of course, in the area of private clients
K: Uh, yes, exactly, that’s with you, isn’t it?
B: That’s correct, but we’re a different department here, Corporate Clients. Nevertheless, we are glad that you have now come to us with X AG. We now have some documents here that need to be filled in.
The client advisor Corporate Clients hands me a stack of about 70 pages. These are sorted into several substacks.
B: You would now have to fill out these documents and then send them to us. Perhaps we could briefly look at the documents together.
K: That’s fine, my lawyer will take care of it.
B: That’s ok, thanks. In conclusion, however, we would like to ask a few questions.
K: What kind of questions?
B:About you. Questions of a general nature.
This is where I dig deeper, because I do not understand what questions should be relevant in addition to the documents to be filled in.
B: Oh, you know, the classic KYC.
Even before I can answer that I do not know what the classic KYC is and what other KYC there is, the client takes the floor.
K: That’s ok, please ask.
B: You’re married, right?
Q:And.
B:How long?
K: For 25 years.
B: And your wife, who also lives in Zurich?
K: Yes, of course. But listen, you have this information for a long time.
B: No, not our department and we are obliged to ask separately again.
K:Ok, then please, continue .
B:Where did you study?
K:In Bogota, History and Politics.
B:Any semesters abroad?
K: No, that wasn’t so common at the time.
B: Where does your wealth come from?
K: It’s my family’s money.
B: You inherited it, right?
Now I cannot hold back and object that apparently the Corporate Clients department has obtained information that is available to the Private Clients department.
B: Yes , we know the customer, he has been with us for a long time.
I refrain from asking what the interrogation is supposed to do , also because I see that my client remains calm.
B: So, you inherited the fortune?
K: Yes, thirty years ago.
B: Through her parents?
Q:And.
B:What did your parents do for a living?
K: They had a factory, some companies.
B:Ok. What was the name of the parents?
K: Please?
B:Your parents‘ names.
K: But they’ve been dead for thirty years and have never been to Switzerland.
B: Well, ok, but we need to know their names.
K: Their names were W and Z.
How I would have liked to have mentioned any figures by García Márquez instead of W and Z and looked to see if the customer advisor would notice. Father José Arcadio Buendía, mother Úrsula Iguarán. But here, too, I refrain from interfering.
B: And they have a son?
K: Yes, he’s fifteen.
At this point I intervene and object that it would go a little too far. The 52 bank representatives take a quick look at each other and give in.
B:Good, good. That’s not so important. Still living in XY?
K: Yes, since I’ve been in Switzerland.
B: Well, finally, could you send us a CV?
K: A what?
I, too, ask what is meant by „CV“. It is about an account opening, not about an application.
B: Well, we didn’t find you on LinkedIn, so we need more information.
I see the astonished face of my client, but also driven by my own curiosity, I ask what role LinkedIn plays here.
B: Well, when we find our customers on LinkedIn, we take the profile there for the CV , because we still have to have it . If the customers are not on LinkedIn, they must submit a resume.
K: I’m not on LinkedIn, not even on Facebook or anything.
B: Yes, we know that, hence the request for a CV.
K: Um, yes.
B: Do you have any relations with the US?
K: No.
B:Are you or family members U.S. citizens?
K: No.
B: And your parents? Were the U.S. citizens?
K: They’re still dead! And no, they weren’t.
B: Are you planning to become a US citizen?
K: Not in this life, maybe in the next.
The bank employees laugh tensely, but the mood is loosened up a bit despite everything. I can’t help laughing either, but I wonder what can still be said with certainty today.
B: Well, still to the documents. We have already drawn for you in pencil what you should tick where.
I object that it may be that something else would have to be ticked. The bank employees look at each other confused.
B:Then please call us immediately. But actually, this should not be necessary.
The recently relaxed mood is noticeably tensing again. The awkward silence is finally broken by my client, who states that he now has to go on, has another appointment.
B:Ok, ok. If you have any questions, we will contact you.
We say goodbye and we leave the bank into the cool summer air. My client looks at me confused, he is still a little overwhelmed by this interrogation. After a few minutes, he lets off some steam and complains about what he has been asked, but relents on his own: „You know, the banks are not to blame. , they are just doing their job, these regulations are to blame, they have taken over and you are riddled with questions that should not concern anyone.“
He hands me the account opening documents: „May I ask you to look at this? I’ll fill it out if you give me the OK.“
I assure him to do so and just before he gets into the car, he shakes his head again, visibly annoyed: „Look, many of my business partners are starting , or have started to To avoid the Swiss financial centre. They have nothing to hide, but do not want to reveal things that fall within the realm of the private. We once left Colombia because there was no rule of law, too many controls, too much surveillance , too much arbitrariness. And now this. And even worse: the state 53 does not even bother to collect this information itself. In South America, the secret services have long collected this information themselves, but here the state obliges the private individuals, i.e. the banks, to collect this data. . And I still pay for it, because the costs are passed on to me. It’s crazy to have to pay for your own surveillance.“
