Why need a bank statement when applying for a loan?
When you apply for a loan, we will ask you to provide certain documents. One of these is a bank statement. I often get asked about this. People ask why ABN AMRO wants to see bank statements and what they need to show. I’ll explain everything in this article.
A bank statement provides insight
The bank has a duty of care when granting loans. We want to know that loan applicants are able to afford the repayments. To do this, we need to look closely at your income and expenditure. A bank statement allows us to do this. It shows that the salary you filled in during the application process is actually deposited into your account, as well as the amount of rent or mortgage you pay each month and whether you pay spousal and/or child maintenance, for example.
Download from Internet Banking
Privacy regulations state that we cannot simply search your bank account for the information we need. This is why we ask you to supply a bank statement. If you have an account with ABN AMRO, you can download a bank statement quickly and easily from Internet Banking. You can read about the procedure for other banks on our Documents when applying for a loan page.
What does the bank statement need to show?
Some of the documents people provide are highly creative, including intricate works of cut and paste art created with Photoshop or Paint. Or information that’s been crossed out. The documents you provide must satisfy certain criteria as follows:
We only accept bank statements in .pdf format. Photos are not valid. Please download statements showing at least one month of consecutive days. Statements may not be over two months old. Statements must show:
- Your IBAN account number
- Your name, address and town/city
- The deposit of your income
- Payment of your housing expenses, such as your rent or mortgage
- Payment of your life insurance, any student loan repayments or payment of spousal and/or child maintenance.
More than one statement is sometimes required
If ABN AMRO is not your only bank and you make payments from other bank accounts, please send us statements from each of your accounts. And if you and your partner are applying for a joint loan, we also need statements from your joint account.
Finally, all of the information must be legible, so please don’t cross anything out on the bank statements. And as always: please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. We’re always happy to help.