The Netherlands offer an attractive climate for investment companies, international trading companies, royalty companies and other international orientated companies. Dutch entities are very often used as a business location to organize international activities and to operate in an international corporate structure.

 

Since 2004 the Dutch trust sector is governed by the Act on the Supervision of Trust Offices (Wet Toezicht Trustkantoren) and other additional regulations. The main goal is to enhance the quality and integrity of the Dutch financial sector in general and the trust sector in particular. All trust offices rendering trust services in The Netherlands are legally required to obtain a license and are subject to the supervision of the Dutch National Bank. Trust offices are seen as "gatekeepers" of the Dutch financial market.

 

All of this has resulted in various compliance requirements for trust offices and its clients. Trust offices are obliged to identify the client / ultimate beneficial owner(s) (person having a (in)direct interst of at least 25% in the Dutch entity), to have knowledge about the source of wealth of the client and the origin of the capital invested in the managed legal entity. Next to that, the trust office's operations must be set up in such a way that the flows of funds can be monitored. The Dutch National Bank will check on a regular basis whether trust offices comply with all legal obligations stated in the Act on the Supervision of Trust Offices.

 

HBA Trust Services B.V. applied for a license in 2004 and was among the first trust offices to obtain this license from the Dutch National Bank in 2005. HBA Trust Services B.V. has embedded compliance in its company organization. Our team consists of internal and external certified compliance officers who monitor HBA Trust Services B.V.’s legal obligations under the Act on the Supervision of Trust Offices.