Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process

CERTIFICATION REGARDING CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNTS FOR FOREIGN BANKS
[OMB CONTROL NUMBER 1506-0043]
The information contained in this Certification is sought pursuant to Sections
5318(j) and 5318(k) of Title 31 of the United State Code, as added by sections 313 and
319(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-56).
This Certification should be completed by any foreign bank that maintains a
correspondent account with any U.S. bank or broker-dealer in securities (a covered
financial institution as defined in 31 CFR 1010.605(e)). An entity that is not a foreign
bank is not required to complete this Certification.
A foreign bank is a bank organized under foreign law and located outside of the United
States (see definition at 31 CFR 1010.100(u)). A bank includes offices, branches, and
agencies of commercial banks or trust companies, private banks, national banks, thrift
institutions, credit unions, and other organizations chartered under banking laws and
supervised by banking supervisors of any state (see definition at 31 CFR 1010.100(d)).1
A correspondent account for a foreign bank is any account to receive deposits from,
make payments or other disbursements on behalf of a foreign bank, or handle other
financial transactions related to the foreign bank.
Special instructions for foreign branches of U.S. banks: A branch or office of a U.S. bank
outside the United State is a foreign bank. Such a branch or office is not required to
complete this Certification with respect to Correspondent Accounts with U.S. branches
and offices of the same U.S. bank.
Special instructions for covering multiple branches on a single Certification: A foreign
bank may complete one Certification for its branches and offices outside the United
States. The Certification must list all of the branches and offices that are covered and
must include the information required in Part C for each branch or office that maintains a
Correspondent Account with a Covered Financial Institution. Use attachment sheets as
necessary.
A. The undersigned financial institution, _____________________________ (“Foreign
Bank”) hereby certifies as follows:

1

A “foreign bank” does not include any foreign central bank or monetary authority that functions as a
central bank, or any international financial institution or regional development bank formed by treaty or
international agreement.

B. Correspondent Accounts Covered by this Certification: Check one box.
This Certification applies to all accounts established for Foreign Bank by
Covered Financial Institutions.
This Certification applies to Correspondent Accounts established by
_____________________________________________________________ (name of
Covered Financial Institution(s)) for Foreign Bank.
C. Physical Presence/Regulated Affiliate Status: Check one box and complete the
blanks.
Foreign Banks maintains a physical presence in any country. That means:
 Foreign Bank has a place of business at the following street address:
_______________________________________________________, where
Foreign Bank employs one or more individuals on a full-time basis and
maintains operating records related to its banking activities.
 The above address is in _______________________ (insert country), where
Foreign Bank is authorized to conduct banking activities.
 Foreign Bank is subject to inspection by ______________________, (insert
Banking Authority), the banking authority that licensed Foreign Bank to
conduct banking activities.
Foreign Bank does not have a physical presence in any country, but Foreign
Bank is a regulated affiliate. That means:
 Foreign Bank is an affiliate of a depository institution, credit union, or a
foreign bank that maintains a physical presence at the following street
address: _____________________________________________________,
where it employs one or more persons on a full-time basis and maintains
operating records related to its banking activities.
 The above address is in _______________________ (insert country), where
the depository institution, credit union, or foreign bank is authorized to
conduct banking activities.
 Foreign Bank is subject to supervision by _____________________, (insert
Banking Authority), the same banking authority that regulates the
depository institution, credit union, or foreign bank.
Foreign Bank does not have a physical presence in a country and is not a
regulated affiliate.
D. Indirect Use of Correspondent Accounts: Check box to certify.
No Correspondent Account maintained by a Covered Financial Institution may
be used to indirectly provide banking services to certain foreign banks. Foreign Bank

hereby certifies that it does not use any Correspondent Account with a Covered
Financial Institution to indirectly provide banking services to any foreign bank that
does not maintain a physical presence in any country and that is not a regulated
affiliate.
E. Ownership Information: Check box 1 or 2 below, if applicable.
1. Form FR Y-7 is on file. Foreign Bank has filed with the Federal Reserve
Board a current Form FR Y-7 and has disclosed its ownership information on
Item 4 of Form FR Y-7.
2. Foreign Bank’s shares are publicly traded. Publicly traded means that the
shares are traded on an exchange or an organized over-the-counter market
that is regulated by a foreign securities authority as defined in section
3(a)(50) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(50)).
If neither box 1 or 2 of Part E is checked, complete Item 3 below, if applicable.
3. Foreign Bank has no owner(s) except as set forth below. For purposes of
this Certification, owner means any person who, directly or indirectly, (a)
owns, controls, or has power to vote 25 percent or more of any class of
voting securities or other voting interests of Foreign Bank; or (b) controls in
any manner the election of a majority of the directors (or individuals
exercising similar functions) of Foreign Bank. For purposes of this
Certification, (i) person means any individual, bank, corporation,
partnership, limited liability company or any other legal entity; (ii) voting
securities or other voting interests means securities or other interests that
entitle the holder to vote for or select directors (or individuals exercising
similar functions); and (iii) members of the same family 2 shall be considered
one person.
Name

2

Address

The same family means parents, spouses, children, siblings, uncles, aunts, grandparents, grandchildren,
first cousins, stepchildren, stepsiblings, parents-in-law and spouses of any of the foregoing. In
determining the ownership interests of the same family, any voting interest of any family member shall be
taken into account.

F. Process Agent: complete the following.
The following individual or entity: ________________________________________
is a resident of the United States at the following street address:
________________________________________________________________, and
is authorized to accept service of legal process on behalf of Foreign Bank from the
Secretary of the Treasury or the Attorney General of the United States pursuant to
Section 5318(k) of title 31, United States Code.
G. General
Foreign Bank hereby agrees to notify in writing each Covered Financial Institution at
which it maintains any Correspondent Account of any change in facts or
circumstances reported in this Certification. Notification shall be given within 30
calendar days of such change.
Foreign Bank understands that each Covered Financial Institution at which it
maintains a Correspondent Account may provide a copy of this Certification to the
Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General of the United States. Foreign
Bank further understands that the statements contained in this Certification may be
transmitted to one or more departments or agencies of the United States of America
for the purpose of fulfilling such departments’ and agencies’ governmental functions.
I, _______________________________ (name of signatory), certify that I have read
and understand this Certification, that the statements made in this Certification are
complete and correct, and that I am authorized to execute this Certification on behalf
of Foreign Bank.
____________________________________
[Name of Foreign Bank]
____________________________________
[Signature]
____________________________________
[Printed Name]
____________________________________
[Title]
Executed on this ____________ day of ______________, 20__.

Received and reviewed by:
Name: ________________________________
Title: ________________________________
For:
________________________________
[Name of Covered Financial Institution]
Date:

________________

[67 FR 60573, Sept. 26, 2002]

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice
Public recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 15 hours per response, including the time
for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a
collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this information
collection is 1506-0043. You may submit comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, by calling the FinCEN Resource Center at 800-767-2825 or by
email at frc@fincen.gov. Alternatively, you may mail us comments at Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network,
P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Please include 1506–0043 in the body of the text.