On July 16, 2015, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
(BCBS) issued a consultation paper on a proposed revised
version of its general guide to account opening.
The guide was first published in February 2003. The proposed
revised version takes into account the significant enhancements
that have been made to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
recommendations and related guidance since it was first
published.
The guide focuses on account opening. It is not intended to
address every possible situation, but instead focuses on some of
the mechanisms that banks can use in developing an effective
customer identification and verification program that enables them
to meet their obligations under anti-money laundering (AML) and
counter-terrorist financing (CTF) requirements. The guide also sets
out the information that should be gathered at the time of account
opening and will help the bank to complete the customer risk
profile. The aim is to support banks in
