Company extensions are the “suffix tag phrase” used at the end of a company name to denote the type of company involved. There are numerous examples specific to each unique company set up in different jurisdictions worldwide.
The common examples are Ltd, LtdGte, LLP. LLC and Plc. But you also have the odd ones for example “EPE” in Greece which refers to a limited liability set up and “DA” in Norway which refers to limited partnership set up
What can the list do for me?
They can facilitate the quick recognition of foreign and unknown corporate set ups and assist the Compliance / KYC teams in understanding what type of legal entity they are up against. Furthermore, identifying the suffix tells you what standard identification and ownership details to look out for.
The suffix also gives the KYC analysts an understanding of where such companies are registered/incorporated and invariably an understanding of the risk ratings through a firm’s geographic risk score ratings. For example, if a company is registered in Iran, North Korea or the Balkan regions, then the compliance team ought to know that these territories are sanctioned regions and pose a heightened threat to the firms AML procedures which would require notification to the firms MLRO before proceeding.