Translating the articles of association to open an account abroad: what the bank looks at
A Russian company was opening an account at a bank in Kazakhstan for settlements with suppliers. The package — articles of association, the sole participant's resolution on incorporation, the order appointing the director, an extract from the state register — was translated and notarised. The bank returned the set twice. The first time — because untranslated seals and registration marks of the tax authority remained in the translation of the articles. The second — because the company name was rendered differently in the translation of the articles and in the translation of the register extract: now Romashka LLC, now OOO Romashka.
What bank compliance checks
Completeness. Everything on the page is translated: the main text, round and corner seals, registration marks, handwritten notes, service marks in the margins, sheet numbers. Empty fields and illegible fragments are marked with a translator's note in square brackets. The bank treats any untranslated element as "the document is not fully translated" and returns the package.
Consistency of names and terms across the whole set. The legal entity's name, the legal form, the names of the director and founders, the registered address, the tax and registration numbers — identical in every document, character for character. If compliance sees two spellings of the company, it treats them as two different entities and asks for explanations.
Correspondence to structure. Many banks require the translation of the articles to keep the clause numbering one to one: the bank's lawyer must be able to find quickly the provisions on the director's powers and on who may open accounts and sign contracts.
How to prepare a corporate package
Gather all the documents and give them to be translated as a single order with a shared glossary: agree in advance with the agency how the company name, the form of ownership, and the key terms of the articles are translated. Check the certification format with the bank — notarised translation, apostille on the register extract, sometimes full consular legalisation. Ask the translator not to skip a single seal or mark.
Before submission, check for yourself: the company name, the tax and registration numbers, the director's name and position, the address — are they identical in every translated document? A repeat compliance cycle at a foreign bank often takes longer than the first one, so the price of accuracy here is weeks, not hours.