Compliance comes before the commercial discussion

In energy trading the question is not whether checks will be carried out, but when. At SCBS they precede the commercial exchange. A counterparty that finds this inconvenient has already told us something about itself.

Know your customer

Before any commitment, SCBS identifies and verifies the parties: legal existence, standing of the representatives, authority to bind the company, and identification of the ultimate beneficial owners.

These elements are requested in documentary form. They are examined individually and for their overall consistency: a single document does not amount to identification.

Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing

Our AML and CFT checks address the source of funds, the economic rationale of the proposed transaction and the profile of those involved with regard to applicable restrictive measures.

Where a transaction has no clear economic justification, or where the proposed structure obstructs the identification of a party, it is not pursued. That decision is not open to negotiation.

Due diligence

The level of verification is proportionate to the transaction: the product, the region concerned, the structure envisaged and the standing of those involved. A more complex transaction calls for more extensive diligence, not faster diligence.

Checks are carried out upfront and documented. They are not regularised after the fact to accommodate an agreement already reached.

Professional discretion

Information entrusted to SCBS — the identity of the parties, the content of exchanges, the documents provided — circulates only among those who need to know it, and only for as long as the transaction requires.

The same restraint governs this website: it carries no counterparty name, no transaction reference and no commercial terms. That is a deliberate choice. A trading company that publishes its files does not protect its clients'.

What we do not do

Being clear about our refusals is as much an undertaking as describing our activities.

We do not take up enquiries from a party that declines to identify itself or to evidence the capacity in which it acts.
We do not disclose information about any transaction, current or past, outside the circle of the parties concerned.
We do not present as mandated anything we are unable to trace back to an identified mandate.
We do not pursue a transaction whose economic rationale is not established or whose structure obstructs due diligence.
We take no part in any approach involving a party subject to applicable restrictive measures.

Position

Why this requirement serves our counterparties

A framework that withstands scrutiny

A transaction handled properly can be defended before a bank, an insurer or an administration. One that is not stops at the first review.

Less time lost

Deciding early whether a file can be taken up avoids committing weeks to a transaction that was never going to complete.

A protected counterparty

The discretion we apply to your file is the discretion we apply to every other. It works both ways.

Open a compliant approach

Introduce your company, the capacity in which you act and the purpose of your approach. We will indicate the documents required for the review to continue.

Get in touch