Corporate entity verification

The following article outlines the key items required to confirm the legitimacy, identity, and credentials of a company or business entity.

• Purpose and intended nature of the account
• Corporate transcript or equivalent
• Ownership and Control Structure

Purpose and intended nature of the account

Purpose and scope are basic KYC requirements within Danish and EU AML (Anti Money Laundering) regulations to establish the purpose and intended nature of the business relationship. There is a need to ascertain that the nature and purpose of the business relationship is legitimate and to obtain a more complete customer risk profile.

It refers to a set group of questions addressing why the client wants to start a business relationship with Saxo, the needs of the client and which solution Saxo can offer to better match these needs in alignment with the bank's strategy, the business profile of the client and the overall initial risk profile of the business relationship.

Corporate transcript or equivalent

The corporate transcript (or company register) provides the main information of the company. The following must be collected and verified against an official document:

• The legal name,
• The legal form of the company,
• The registered address and, if any, business address
• The registration number,
• The date of incorporation, 
• The registered address, 

In most jurisdictions, the corporate transcript can be verified online via the website of the local Company Register. If not available publicly, this document must be provided by the client and issued within the past 12 months. Among others, a Certificate of Incorporation, a Certificate of Good Standing and a Certificate of Incumbency may be equivalent to a corporate transcript.

In certain situations, Saxo might be required to also collect the Statutes of the company (also called Articles of Association, Constitution, Bylaws, etc.) or equivalent document.

Ownership and Control Structure

Saxo is required to understand the ownership and control structure of each corporate client. The ownership structure refers to how ownership rights are distributed among various stakeholders in a company or organization. In the context of corporate clients, ownership structure involves understanding the ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) information, details of directors authorized to bind the company, and relevant legal documents that detail ownership or control arrangements.

Saxo bank group does not allow onboarding of corporate clients that are fully or partly owned through bearer shares. This applies to all layers of a corporate entity structure (corporate shareholdings), not only the direct client itself. 

The ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) is the natural person(s) who ultimately, directly or indirectly, owns or controls a customer and/or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted.

In order to identify the ownership structure, Saxo should collect/obtain the following:

• A detailed organizational chart outlining the ownership structure, particularly for entities with multiple layers/owners. That document should be dated within the last 6 months and signed by the representative(s) of the company (if the document is not issued by an official registry/office)
• Relevant legal documents, such as articles of association, shareholders’ agreements, or pledge agreements, that detail ownership or control arrangements.
• Clear information on management and provisions regulating how the company can be legally bound.

In order to verify the individuals that have been recognized as ultimate beneficial owners. directors authorized to bind the company, and Authorized Dealers (a person authorized to trade on the Saxo account) for each of them Saxo must collect:

• Personal information (full name, date and country of birth, nationality) verified with government-issued photo ID.
• Proof of residence required; separate from ID.
• Tax Identification Number (TIN) and tax residency must be provided.