Summary - Trusts and banking: Bridging the gap between trustees and banks

Banking challenges have become one of the most significant operational and policy issues facing trust practitioners globally. Trustees and advisers increasingly report difficulties opening and maintaining bank accounts, lengthy onboarding processes, inconsistent due diligence requirements and, in some cases, the closure of long-standing banking relationships. At the same time, banks continue to operate within an increasingly complex regulatory and financial crime compliance environment.

This webinar will bring together trust practitioners, compliance professionals and banking representatives to explore the factors driving these challenges, examine why trusts are often perceived as higher-risk clients, and discuss how trustees and banks can work more effectively together. Drawing on perspectives from multiple jurisdictions, the panel will consider the wider themes of de-risking, financial inclusion, regulatory expectations and trust banking access.

The session will also mark the launch of STEP's Trust Banking Due Diligence Toolkit, a practical resource developed to help trustees and advisers better understand and meet banks' onboarding and ongoing due diligence requirements. Speakers will discuss how the Toolkit can support more efficient account opening processes, improve the quality of information provided to banks and help foster stronger banking relationships. The Toolkit will be published and shared with all attendees before the webinar.

Attendees will gain practical insights into the challenges affecting trust banking relationships and hear directly from both practitioners and banking representatives on how these issues can be addressed.

Key takeaways include:

Understanding the key factors driving trust debanking and de-risking decisions
Exploring banks' expectations when onboarding and reviewing trust clients
Identifying common issues that lead to delays, additional information requests or account closures
Examining current regulatory and financial crime compliance considerations
Learning how trustees can better prepare for bank onboarding and ongoing reviews
Understanding how STEP's Trust Banking Due Diligence Toolkit can support more effective engagement with banks
Discussing practical solutions to improve cooperation and confidence between trustees and banking institutions

This session will be particularly relevant for trustees, fiduciaries, private client lawyers, trust administrators, family office professionals, wealth advisers, compliance specialists and banking professionals working with trust and fiduciary structures.

Event focus