Another poster said that it has become common practice in Thailand and the world for banks to ask for a sworn statement of net worth and income upon opening a new account.  I've opened 10 or so bank accounts in Thailand and have never been asked my income or net worth.  Has anyone else?

Never ! neither here nor in the UK.

 

The above is just one individual claim though, apparently.

Lets see if others have encountered this.

5 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Another poster said

no way José... never happens in Thailand.

Garbage...they may asked how much will coming through the account in a month...maybe the poster is confused 

it was me who said it. i am not sure about other banks but it happaned to me when i opened a bangkok bank account, last year.

the form is asking from which countries will you be send money, what are the sources of your wealth (work or investment ot both) , your current salary, and your net worth (4 groups to chose from).

finally, you have to sign that all the above is true.

i asked the bank officer if now i must send the money only from the countries i mentioned on the form (choce of 3 countries) and she said in the blurry thai way  :"no no, you can send from many countries".

question is, what is the legal power of this form?

can the thai authoroties come to me later and tell me : " you sent money from canada but on this form you said you will send from england. not we are going to sue / fine you".

and as you know, they share all information with other countires,

especially USA...so go tell when and how this form will get you in trouble...

20 minutes ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

it was me who said it. i am not sure about other banks but it happaned to me when i opened a bangkok bank account, last year.

the form is asking from which countries will you be send money, what are the sources of your wealth (work or investment ot both) , your current salary, and your net worth (4 groups to chose from).

finally, you have to sign that all the above is true.

i asked the bank officer if now i must send the money only from the countries i mentioned on the form (choce of 3 countries) and she said in the blurry thai way  :"no no, you can send from many countries".

question is, what is the legal power of this form?

can the thai authoroties come to me later and tell me : " you sent money from canada but on this form you said you will send from england. not we are going to sue / fine you".

and as you know, they share all information with other countires,

especially USA...so go tell when and how this form will get you in trouble...

What kind of account?

19 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

and the world for banks to ask for a sworn statement of net worth and income upon opening a new account. 

 

19 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Never ! neither here nor in the UK.

Looks like an extension of the type of questions some "offshore" banks/financial institutions ask as part of "know your customer"/anti money laundering regulations.

This is from Lloyds International application I completed some years ago with boxes under each to complete the details - (however I only ever gave some general figures and nowhere did I give any sort of net worth). 

 

4 Financial background

Please provide your reason for opening the account(s) and the intended use
What is the estimated amount that will be paid into the account(s) each year?
Please provide details of the activity(ies) that have generated the initial deposit and are likely to generate future deposits
e.g. transfer from existing bank account, salary, bonus, sale of investments, sale of property
Please provide details of the Bank/Company and country(ies) which the initial deposit will come from
Please explain how you have accumulated your total wealth e.g. earnings during your lifetime, inheriting family wealth, managing your own business (Further documentary evidence may be required) – Please see the ‘What you’ll need to send us’ leaflet enclosed.

 

name
Sort code
First line of branch address
Staff contact name
Staff file number
Contact telephone number including area dialling code
For International Intermediary Service use only
Introducer name
IIS reference number
Branch stamp
FOR BANK USE ONLY
Gross annual guaranteed income
First customer’s income
Annual total
Second customer’s income
Other income
(Please state source)
£
$
€
Financial background

15 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

question is, what is the legal power of this form?

Know your customer regs probably only because you are from US. Thailand has no agreement with rest of world to provide account information - yet.

If they think you have lied they could close the account and or report you to relevant authorities if they think you are money laundering.......

Other than that forget it and next time just give very general answers. 

15 minutes ago, topt said:

 

Looks like an extension of the type of questions some "offshore" banks/financial institutions ask as part of "know your customer"/anti money laundering regulations.

This is from Lloyds International application I completed some years ago with boxes under each to complete the details - (however I only ever gave some general figures and nowhere did I give any sort of net worth). 

 

4 Financial background

Please provide your reason for opening the account(s) and the intended use
What is the estimated amount that will be paid into the account(s) each year?
Please provide details of the activity(ies) that have generated the initial deposit and are likely to generate future deposits
e.g. transfer from existing bank account, salary, bonus, sale of investments, sale of property
Please provide details of the Bank/Company and country(ies) which the initial deposit will come from
Please explain how you have accumulated your total wealth e.g. earnings during your lifetime, inheriting family wealth, managing your own business (Further documentary evidence may be required) – Please see the ‘What you’ll need to send us’ leaflet enclosed.

 

name
Sort code
First line of branch address
Staff contact name
Staff file number
Contact telephone number including area dialling code
For International Intermediary Service use only
Introducer name
IIS reference number
Branch stamp
FOR BANK USE ONLY
Gross annual guaranteed income
First customer’s income
Annual total
Second customer’s income
Other income
(Please state source)
£
$
€
Financial background

As you say, thats a Lloyds International account, not a new savings account in the high st. 

The questions probably come about because the bank has a branch in the Caymen islands, lol

There are differences between a current account and a savings account I guess. I opened a savings account 3 months ago at Bangkok Bank. 

1. Passport

2. Thai Driving Licence (Has Address)

3. Notarised copy of apartment lease contract.

4. Deposit funds.

 

30 mins. Left with Bank Book. ATM card and Mobile Banking. I have done transfers in since. Everything is working fine. 

 

I think a good plan is to choose a bank that is used to dealing with Farangs in the first place rather than some branch in a mall. You can always move the account later if needed. 

Non of the Thai banks asked for the above informations from me. When I applied for a brokerage account, Charles Schwab asked for my financial background similar to the above and called to verify.

 

2 hours ago, topt said:

Know your customer regs probably only because you are from US. Thailand has no agreement with rest of world to provide account information - yet.

If they think you have lied they could close the account and or report you to relevant authorities if they think you are money laundering.......

Other than that forget it and next time just give very general answers. 

Of course...never occured to me, i guess he should be glad that they are even talking to him, many banks these days.." are you an american or have US PR ?" If answering in the afirmative...sorry we will not proceed opening this account...

No way, punch of BS.... never had that request and have accounts in 3 different countries

8 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

No way, punch of BS.... never had that request and have accounts in 3 different countries

That was my thought.  I asked the poster what kind of account but got no answer. 

13 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

No way, punch of BS.... never had that request and have accounts in 3 different countries

Are you American ? 

7 minutes ago, Scottjouro said:

Are you American ? 

nope!!!, european and I don't think nationality it's an issue, have friends from different countries and they never had that request either

5 minutes ago, Scottjouro said:

Are you American ? 

I am and never had a problem or questions opening over 10 accounts in Thailand.

15 hours ago, Mavideol said:

nope!!!, european and I don't think nationality it's an issue, have friends from different countries and they never had that request either

US nationality can be a problem, some countries just do not want the aggravation of FATCA and have declined accounts to US citizens.

 

https://www.goldinglawyers.com/be-careful-closing-foreign-accounts-foreign-banks-refuse-to-open-new-accounts/

15 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

I am and never had a problem or questions opening over 10 accounts in Thailand.

At this point in time Thailand is co-operating with the US.

 

For Thailand Model 1 A (Reciprocal) was agreed and used. Information Exchange System The International Data Exchange Service (IDES) of the United States is a tool to gather information from financial institutions in Thailand. This is called Model 1 Option 2 (M1O2).   http://www.rd.go.th/publish/56958.0.html

 

On 10/26/2018 at 8:30 AM, sandyf said:

US nationality can be a problem, some countries just do not want the aggravation of FATCA and have declined accounts to US citizens.

 

https://www.goldinglawyers.com/be-careful-closing-foreign-accounts-foreign-banks-refuse-to-open-new-accounts/

I have been told by bankers in Singapore they will not touch US citizens who are not resident/working in Singapore as its just too much hassle and cost because of Facta

On 10/25/2018 at 5:15 PM, Mavideol said:

nope!!!, european and I don't think nationality it's an issue, have friends from different countries and they never had that request either

Nationality is an issue if your from the US or have a US green card

On 10/24/2018 at 10:09 PM, topt said:

Know your customer regs probably only because you are from US. Thailand has no agreement with rest of world to provide account information - yet.

They have with the USA (for US citizens) due to FATCA

On 10/24/2018 at 12:19 PM, CharlieH said:

Never ! neither here nor in the UK.

 

The above is just one individual claim though, apparently.

Lets see if others have encountered this.

I have been asked when opening UK (offshore) accounts.

 

It's their CYA anti money laundering requirements

Any bank anywhere in the world that deals in the US has to abide by FACTA if they wish to trade there.  You do not need to be a US citizen/card holder to get caught up in FACTA just a "registered interest" in/with the US which you declare to your local (non US) Bank.

I used to work in the UK Banking Industry and the introduction of FACTA plus all the new UK/EU rules that came in at the same time are a minefield.

20 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

They have with the USA (for US citizens) due to FATCA

What is it about "because you are from the US" and "rest of the world" do you find difficult to understand.......????

I have opened new accounts (Saving + Deposit) at Kasikorn this week.

On one form they ask about your job and your Income and some other questions about yourself. But has no importance for the bank to open the account more like statistically information. As they bank personal not even interested at what I put in at this fields.

you can see here a copy of the form that state the net worth / income ext.

the "sworn" PART is on the bottom, where you have to sign to confirm that

all the info you provided is true.

this is worrying, cause it gives the bank the legal option to sue you in case

the info will be discovered as not accurate.

 

for example, if you state that you will send the money from england and

later you send it from spain , banker can tell you "pay fine or go to court".

2 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

for example, if you state that you will send the money from england and

later you send it from spain , banker can tell you "pay fine or go to court".

 

If you really believe it would work like that........

2 hours ago, topt said:

 

If you really believe it would work like that........

I DON'T believe, i know. it happaned to a friend of mine, but not in thailand.

it happans all the time these days. payments are being rejected by banks and worse.

On 11/23/2018 at 9:58 AM, HampiK said:

I have opened new accounts (Saving + Deposit) at Kasikorn this week.

On one form they ask about your job and your Income and some other questions about yourself. But has no importance for the bank to open the account more like statistically information. As they bank personal not even interested at what I put in at this fields.

Yes it happened to my wife too when she opened a savings and deposit account with kasikorn and Bangkok bank. But she also applied for credit cards with fixed deposits as collaterals.  She had to use the Thai elite letter to open the account. Pages of documents to fill.