Bank Account for a Foreign-Owned Company in the Philippines: How to Open One

Opening a bank account for a foreign-owned company in the Philippines follows the same basic path as for any Philippine corporation: the company must first be registered and documented, and the bank must be satisfied that the persons opening and operating the account are duly authorized. The bank will ask for the company's certificate of incorporation, its Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, its taxpayer identification number, and proof of the authority of the signatories. For a foreign-owned company, the bank may also require additional documents showing the ownership structure and the authority of the foreign parent or shareholders.

The short answer: there is no single "foreign company" bank account. The account is opened in the name of the Philippine corporation, and the bank applies its own customer due diligence rules to the company and its beneficial owners.

The company must be a registered Philippine juridical entity

Banks open corporate accounts for juridical persons, not for foreign parents acting informally. A foreign-owned company doing business in the Philippines is typically a domestic corporation with foreign equity, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The bank will ask for the SEC registration documents, the Articles of Incorporation, the By-Laws, and the latest General Information Sheet.

The account is opened in the name of that corporation. The foreign parent or foreign shareholders are not the account holder; they are the owners behind it. This distinction matters because the bank's due diligence focuses on the corporation as the customer, and on the persons who own or control it.

Authority to open and operate the account must be documented

A corporation acts through its board and its authorized representatives. Under the BSP rules on financial consumer complaints, when a party is a juridical entity, a board or partnership resolution, together with the corresponding Secretary's Certificate — or its equivalent for a foreign juridical entity — is required to show the authority of the representative.

In practice, the bank will ask for a board resolution naming the authorized signatories, specifying the account type, and stating the limits of their authority. The bank will also ask for the Secretary's Certificate certifying that the resolution was duly adopted. If the signatory is not a director or officer, a specific written authority is needed.

What the bank will ask for: a practical checklist

While each bank has its own list, the following are commonly required for a foreign-owned Philippine corporation:

• SEC Certificate of Registration and Articles of Incorporation
• Latest By-Laws and General Information Sheet
• Board resolution and Secretary's Certificate naming authorized signatories
• Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of the corporation
• Valid identification documents of the signatories
• Proof of the company's principal place of business
• Documents showing the ownership structure, including foreign shareholders
• For a foreign juridical entity acting as representative or owner: its equivalent board resolution and Secretary's Certificate

Banks may also require a minimum initial deposit, which varies by bank and account type. The amount is set by the bank's own policy, not by a fixed statutory figure.

The account holder is the "real party-in-interest"

Under the BSP rules, every action filed with the BSP must be made in the name of the real party-in-interest, who may be a natural or juridical person. The "real party-in-interest" is the party named in the records of the BSI as the actual or prospective depositor, purchaser, lessee, recipient of a financial transaction with a BSI, or the account owner, as the case may be.

For a foreign-owned company, this means the account must be recorded in the name of the corporation as the depositor. A representative may act for the corporation, but only with the required written authority and, for a juridical entity, the board resolution and Secretary's Certificate.

If a dispute arises with the bank

If the company is dissatisfied with a financial product or service, the BSP rules provide a two-level recourse mechanism. The first level is the BSI's Financial Consumer Protection Assistance Mechanism (FCPAM), where the complainant must first report the concern to the bank involved. The BSP-CAM is a second-level recourse mechanism for financial consumers who have reported their concerns to the BSI through its FCPAM and are not satisfied with how the bank handled them, or whose concerns were not acted upon within a reasonable period.

The BSP-CAM is a condition precedent to both mediation and adjudication. The complainant has the option to proceed either to mediation or adjudication after resort to BSP-CAM, subject to compliance with the rules.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign-owned company open a bank account in the Philippines? Yes. A foreign-owned Philippine corporation may open a bank account in its own name, provided it is duly registered and can show the bank the required corporate documents and the authority of its signatories.

What documents does a foreign-owned company need to open a bank account? Commonly, the SEC registration, Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, General Information Sheet, board resolution, Secretary's Certificate, TIN, and valid IDs of the signatories. The bank may require additional documents on ownership and control.

Does a foreigner need to be a signatory? Not necessarily. The authorized signatories are designated by the board. If a foreign representative is authorized, the bank will require the appropriate written authority, including the equivalent of a board resolution and Secretary's Certificate for a foreign juridical entity.

Practical takeaways

• The account is opened in the name of the Philippine corporation, not the foreign parent.
• A board resolution and Secretary's Certificate are standard requirements for a corporate account.
• Banks apply their own customer due diligence and may ask for ownership and control documents.
• The corporation must be the real party-in-interest on the account records.
• If a dispute arises, the bank's FCPAM must be resorted to before the BSP-CAM.

Primary sources

The rules discussed above are drawn from the following issuances, embedded here in full for your reference.

Rules of Procedure for the Consumer Assistance Mechanism, Mediation and Adjudication of Cases in the Bangko Sentral ng PilipinasOpen in Law LibraryDownload PDF

Amendments to the Guidelines on the Basic Security Deposit RequirementOpen in Law LibraryDownload PDF

Guidelines on Receivership and Liquidation Proceedings of Non-Banks with Quasi-Banking Functions (NBQBs) and Trust EntitiesOpen in Law LibraryDownload PDF

This article is general information and not legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a lawyer or ask ASG Legal AI.