what does KYB mean and why do we get such a questionnaire from the bank

KYB stands for Know Your Business, the bank's customer due diligence

KYB is the business version of the customer due diligence that banks must conduct under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft). While KYC (Know Your Customer) is focused on the individual, KYB concerns the business as a customer: who is behind it, where does the money come from and does the risk profile match what the bank expects from this relationship. The bank is obliged to do this, not out of curiosity — and must repeat the investigation periodically, even for an existing account if nothing has occurred.

Yes, in practice completion is necessary: without a completed customer due diligence investigation, the bank cannot continue the relationship. The questions that come back are fixed: the beneficial owners of the company, or whether one of them is a politically exposed person is, the origin of the capital, and whether the business or its directors appear on a sanctions list . The bank often also asks about other banking relationships — this is normal and no signal that something is wrong with the current relationship.

Basic information comes from the Business Register, the rest from the customer due diligence investigation

The bank's identification obligation follows from the Wwft, which regulates customer due diligence including the identification of UBOs and the monitoring of the business relationship. For the identification of directors, shareholders and the legal form of the business, the bank aligns with the data recorded pursuant to the Business Register Act 2007 at the Chamber of Commerce. This explains why part of a KYB questionnaire overlaps with what is already publicly available in the Business Register, and another part — source of funds, sanctions screening — goes further than what is registered there.