If we start doing business with a company out of Mexico, what Due Diligence do we need to do on the business and the owners? This would be primarily a lending relationship. Please keep in mind that our BSA policy and Lending Polices do not support foreign relationships.

One way to start would be to look at the documentation you require to open a commercial account domestically, then ask "What are the Mexican equivalents for these documents?" "Do I have the expertise to read and evaluate them?" "Do I know enough about Mexican business formation structures to interpret the ownership?" Then when looking at managers, directors, owners and ownership, ask whether the level of ownership for which you require data needs to be different for a foreign entity? Is Mexico considered a high risk country in your risk assessment? Will you have to do enhanced due diligence on the company?

What will it take to update your BSA and Lending policies before launching into a new country?

Just to follow-up on what Hrothgar has already said about ownership, recognize that determining the "beneficial ownership" may be more critical for foreign businesses than domestics ones, especially in Mexico.

Will this be a one-time lending transaction or a new market for your Bank?

If your Bank plans to attract new customers, make sure to do your homework since there are many risks involved (legal, credit, reputational, & Compliance of course).

Get familiar with the different types of businesses, industries, legal filings, etc...

The following website is a good resource:
Secretaria de Hacienda

It will be a one time customer for now, we are not looking to expand to this area of banking.

thanks for everyones input on this matter.

I forgot to mentioned, since most of legal documents are written in spanish, make it a mandatory policy to have official English translations as part of your KYC process.

I used to work for a Bank that granted credit for Mexican Companies and noticed that (unless you go after big fishes) most of the time the risk was not worth the gain...

One piece of advise, stay away from Deposit-Secured Loans (or make sure that your EDD is extremely well-documented)