bank wants to know if our company has contracts with government institutions

Government contracts are an indicator in customer due diligence

The bank does not ask this out of curiosity about your turnover, but as part of the customer due diligence that is mandatory under the Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Wwft). Contracts with governments namely increase the risk of conflicts of interest with politically exposed persons — think of an alderman who is also involved in your company, or a family member of a government official on your board. The bank must assess that risk before accepting or retaining you as a customer, and government contracts are one of the signals they routinely check.

This often relates to another question in the same list, namely whether one of the directors or stakeholders is a politically exposed person. If you have government contracts, the bank often checks extra carefully whether such a person is in your management or shareholder structure. If you have no contracts with government authorities, then "no" is simply the factually correct answer here — you do not need to explain or clarify anything, unless the portal itself asks for it. If you do have government contracts, a follow-up question often follows about their nature and scope; you have that proof (contract, procurement document) yourself, it is not standard in a chain file.

Where this comes from: the customer due diligence of the Wwft

This question stems from the obligation to perform customer due diligence under the Wwft, which requires banks to assess the risk profile of a business relationship, including possible links with politically exposed persons through government contracts. This is separate from data already publicly available via the Business Register — such as who are the ultimate beneficial owners of the company — because the bank specifically wants to know whether a business relationship with the government presents an increased risk, not just who is on the board.