important regulatory information
FOR BUSINESS OWNERS
At Univest, we are committed to keeping our customers informed of regulatory changes that may impact the way you do business with us. Effective May 11, 2018, federal regulations will require all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information about the beneficial owners of all legal business entities that establish new deposit or loan accounts with the bank or in circumstances deemed necessary by the bank.
What you need to know about beneficial ownership requirements.
FAQs
Federal regulations require all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information about the beneficial owners of all legal business entities that open new deposit and loan accounts with the bank. These regulations are meant to help the government fight financial crime. Legal entities can be abused to disguise involvement in money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion, corruption, fraud, and other financial crimes. The disclosure of key individuals who ultimately own and/or control the legal business entity help law enforcement investigate and prosecute these crimes.
Beneficial owners are defined as individuals who own, directly or indirectly, 25% or more of the equity interests of the legal business entity and individuals with significant managerial control over the business entity such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, President, Partner, Treasurer or Managing Member.
Legal business entities include but are not limited to corporations, limited liability companies, and general partnerships. Government agencies, publicly traded companies, sole proprietorships, and unregistered entities are not required to provide the beneficial ownership information.
If you open a new business deposit, time deposit, or loan account or if a loan is renewed or extended with Univest, all beneficial owners will be required to supply their full legal name, physical address, date of birth, social security number, and an unexpired government issued ID at the time of account opening or renewal. If a beneficial owner is not a U.S. citizen, then a passport number may be provided in lieu of the social security number.
Individuals opening a business deposit and/or loan account or renewing/extending a loan with Univest must complete a Certification of Beneficial Owners of Legal Entities form.
Beneficial owners do not have to be present for account opening. Copies of identification documentation can be provided to meet financial institution requirements.
An unexpired government issued identification document with photograph evidencing residence or nationality like a driver’s license or passport is required.
A legal business entity must identify one individual with significant managerial control and may have up to four additional beneficial owners.
Once Univest has obtained a beneficial ownership certification for your legal entity, we may ask that you confirm the information when you open additional new accounts or conduct higher risk services. If nothing has changed, we may not ask for a new certification. Please let us know if there is a change in ownership or control of your company so we can obtain an up-to-date certification that reflects accurate information.
Indirect ownership means your legal entity may be owned by one or more legal entities. We are required to obtain information on the individual persons behind those layered entities who ultimately have the equivalent of 25 percent or more ownership of your legal business entity.
Yes. You would simply mark the box indicating there are no individuals with beneficial ownership and complete the section for the individual with significant management responsibility.
The individual requesting the account be opened or the loan be granted is the person to complete the certification. This could be the same individual named as the individual with significant management responsibility, or someone who has been designated by that individual to establish bank relationships on behalf of your legal entity. Either way, the person who completes the certification will sign it indicating the information is accurate to the best of his or her knowledge.
Beneficial owners are not required to be signers on the account(s). However, not being a signer on the account(s) does not exclude the beneficial owners from providing the required information and documentation.
Beneficial ownership information is required to be collected at account opening. Unfortunately, we will not be able to open the account or continue a banking relationship with any legal business entity who declines to provide the information.
We are required to maintain this information as part of our records that are associated with your legal business entity. We treat this information with the same high level of confidentiality and security as we do all our customer information.
For more information, please stop by your local Univest financial center, speak with your relationship manager or call 877.723.5571.
Changes effective May 11, 2018
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