Regulatory Alerts2019-06-14
Added · Updated
Report of Mystery Shopping Programme for Account Opening Process of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Customers
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority issued this report detailing observations from a mystery shopping programme conducted across 20 authorized institutions to assess their SME account opening processes. The study identified significant deficiencies in staff knowledge regarding review mechanisms, unreasonable document requirements such as mandatory referral letters, and the improper linking of wealth management purchases to account approval. The regulator mandates that institutions enhance channel accessibility, ensure due diligence measures are risk-based and pragmatic, and strictly prohibit conditioning account opening on product purchases or excessive documentation.