Changing Commercial Account Number and TIN

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Question:

We have been requested by our Commercial Loan area to help out an existing customer. The existing customer is being taken over by another Company and the existing customer would like to keep the existing account number but change the name and the reporting 06 TIN number on this existing account. My question is there any requirement by IRS or any others that we close this account and open another? We have always closed these accounts in the past but I think this was more a Bank requirement then a legal one. Am I correct in this?

Answer:

I don't know about your bank, but if someone wanted to change the name on a commercial account at mine, they would have received a resounding NO! The audit trail is totally gone, as is the record of the TIN. It would be my guess that the reason they want to keep the same account is because they just got an order of checks! I'd turn them down. I know of no legal reason for this. It's just plain bad banking policy to change names on accounts.

First published on BankersOnline.com 1/7/02