As CEO and founder of COREDO, I see every day how entrepreneurs from Europe, Asia and the CIS face challenges when entering international markets. Our experience since 2016 in company formation, obtaining financial licenses and AML consulting allows the COREDO team to turn these complexities into strategic advantages. In this article I will break down the key aspects based on practice: from choosing a jurisdiction to the assessment by EU banks of investment structures, so that you get a clear guide for your business.
How EU banks really view investment structures
In practice this means that even a correctly registered company can be refused if the bank does not understand the sources of income, the role of the SPV or the economic rationale for the risk allocation. At COREDO we always start from the bank’s perspective, not the applicant’s — this is exactly what shortens account opening times.
Choosing a jurisdiction: speed, taxes, EU banks
Registering a company abroad begins with analyzing your goals, whether seed venture projects or creating investment structures for scaling. The COREDO team always assesses criteria: level of bureaucracy, tax rates, possibility of remote onboarding and access to banking services. In 2025 the leaders remain Cyprus, UAE (Dubai), Estonia and Singapore: jurisdictions where we have successfully registered dozens of companies.
Why, for EU banks, a jurisdiction is not about tax but about a risk profile
For example, Cyprus is perceived by EU banks as a predictable jurisdiction with a clear judicial system and a mature regulator, whereas structures with similar taxes outside the EU require significantly more Due Diligence. That is why at COREDO we often use Cyprus or Estonia as a “trust anchor” for international groups.
In Cyprus, for example, the process takes 5–10 days: you submit the constitutional documents, proof of address and data on beneficial owners. This opens the doors to European regulation with flexible offshore advantages, including residency through investment. COREDO’s practice confirms: for holding structures a corporate tax of 12.5% is ideal here without double taxation thanks to treaties with 60+ countries. In Dubai Free Zones provide 100% foreign ownership and zero corporate tax, with registration in 3 days — we recently launched a client’s payment company exactly like that, enabling integration with EU banks via passporting.
Substance as a key factor in banks’ assessment
Since 2024 EU banks practically do not consider investment structures without confirmed substance. It is not only about an office or a director, but about the actual center of decision-making.
Estonia and Singapore are suitable for fintech: e-Residency allows online registration, and we help meet substance requirements (a real office, local staff) since 2024, when they were tightened. Our approach: first Due Diligence of your current structure, then selecting a jurisdiction based on ROI calculations and risks. A client from Asia, for example, registered an SPV in Cyprus for Series A venture financing, minimizing risk isolation and obtaining an EU bank account in 2 weeks.
How a license affects the banking decision
That is why structures with an EMI, AIFM or VASP license pass bank onboarding faster than non-regulated investment companies. At COREDO we use Licensing as a tool to accelerate banking decisions, not only as a regulatory requirement.
Obtaining financial licenses: crypto and payments
financial licenses – the next step where many lose time. The COREDO team specializes in crypto licenses (VASP in Cyprus), banking, forex and payment (EMI/MFI in the EU). Regulatory requirements such as AIFMD for EU investment funds we review at the planning stage.
What EU banks check first in investment funds
When assessing investment funds, EU banks focus on three aspects:
- transparency of ownership and control;
- alignment of the investment strategy with the stated risk profile;
- the fund’s ability to manage liquidity and conflicts of interest.
In practice this means that even a formally permissible structure can be rejected if the bank does not see a clear link between the fund’s strategy and its operating model.
In Singapore, an MAS license for payments takes 4–6 months; the solution developed at COREDO includes KYC/AML from the start. For crypto in Cyprus, CySEC requires Due Diligence of beneficiaries and an investment assessment — we perform it according to international standards, focusing on the business reputation of the founders and corporate governance.
AML consulting for EU banks
AML checks are a pain for 90% of clients seeking accounts with EU banks. Banks have tightened KYC: they require data on beneficial owners, sources of funds and ownership structure. Our experience at COREDO confirms: transparency is everything here. We conduct internal Due Diligence according to FATF standards, including checks for corporate conflicts and non-financial indicators.
Typical reasons EU banks refuse on AML grounds
According to our statistics, most EU bank refusals are not related to the client’s geography but to opaque sources of funds and complex ownership structures without an economic rationale.
Example: a client from the CIS was creating a multi-strategy platform in Estonia. EU banks (including Lithuania and the Czech Republic) requested AML checks in the EU investment structures. The COREDO team prepared a report assessing the ownership structure (dispersed vs concentrated), the GAR coefficient for green assets and proxy metrics based on the precautionary principle. Result: the account was opened, ROI exceeded 15% in a year.
ESG as a factor in bank trust, not marketing
For EU banks ESG is a tool to assess sustainability, not a PR indicator. What is checked is not the declaration but the compliance of the investment portfolio with the technical criteria of the EU Taxonomy.
For securitization of assets (real estate, pools of debt claims) we add unit liquidity and financial resilience. In the EU the Taxonomy requires technical criteria for six environmental objectives: we calculate the share of revenue from sustainable activities, ESG capital expenditures and operating expenses, avoiding greenwashing.
Support from registration to scaling
COREDO provides the full cycle: after registration: tax number, reporting, account openings. For investment structures we conduct investment assessments for EU banks: ROI calculations taking into account AIFMD requirements, risk management and ESG factors. A client with real estate development projects in Cyprus used our SPV structure for risk isolation; EU banks approved financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) on a four-level scale, focusing on the quality of the project cycle.
Checklist: how to prepare an investment structure for an EU bank assessment
Before approaching an EU bank an investment structure should answer the key questions:
- is the logic of ownership and management clear;
- are the sources of funds verified;
- does the strategy correspond to the fund or SPV;
- is there substance and risk control;
- are AML and ESG integrated into the operating model.
The absence of any of these elements almost guarantees a refusal or months-long due diligence.
Strategic ideas for success
To pass EU banks’ Due Diligence:
- Provide an ownership structure with a minimum contribution of 125,000 EUR for qualified investors.
- Integrate the ESG taxonomy: target: 50%+ share of green assets, symmetric GAR.
- For venture use an SPV for seed/Series A, increasing liquidity through securitization.
- Scale without AIFMD changes via an umbrella fund.
The COREDO team has already implemented 200+ projects: from crypto licenses in Dubai to EU banks for sustainable investments. We save you time by offering transparent processes and support at all stages. Contact us – we’ll turn your idea into a working structure with a high ROI.