RBC closed U.S.-dollar accounts for dual citizens
TAVIA GRANT AND ALEX DOBROTA
Globe and Mail Update
<!-- dateline -->TORONTO AND OTTAWA<!-- /dateline --> — Royal Bank of Canada has closed the U.S.-dollar chequing accounts of hundreds of dual-citizen Canadians and refuses to open new ones — a move it asserts was necessary to comply with U.S. rules on antiterrorism and money laundering.
The decision, which has prompted charges of discrimination and racial profiling, has affected “a couple of hundred” Canadian citizens with dual nationalities of Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea or Myanmar since April, RBC spokesman David Moorcroft said yesterday.
Mr. Moorcroft stressed that RBC, which has the most U.S.-dollar accounts in Canada, is simply complying with U.S. Treasury Department rules that govern any dealings with the U.S. currency.
“These are not rules made by Royal Bank, ... they are rules for banks all over the world,” he said.
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The move, first reported by the CBC, sparked concern among many Canadian immigrants who need U.S.-dollar accounts to send money home or make global payments.
Closing accounts will unjustly target those who are sending money to relatives in their country of origin, said Dak Nyuon, president of the African Sudanese Association of Calgary. Many Sudanese Canadians prefer to send U.S. currency to their families, he said.
“This is discrimination of people who have a dual citizenship,” Mr. Nyuon said of the regulations. “We are not a threat to Canadian security.”
Finance experts called RBC's move unprecedented.
“In my experience, I know of no precedent,” said Don Brean, a professor of finance and business economics at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto. “It smacks of discrimination.”
Mr. Moorcroft said U.S. authorities have fined several European banks million of dollars for not complying with these regulations, and that failure to follow the rules could mean banks like RBC would be prohibited from offering any U.S.-dollar chequing accounts.
“It's their currency, it's their dollar, it's their clearing system,” he said. “It's their right and they've made that very clear.”
Since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. authorities have clamped down on terrorism financing and beefed up money-laundering controls.
The Treasury Department has also introduced economic sanctions regulations, which prohibit certain people from holding U.S.-dollar accounts.
Toronto-Dominion Bank and the Bank of Nova Scotia said they still offer U.S.-dollar accounts to people who meet their criteria — regardless of nationality.
“If a person in that circumstance has the correct ID, and satisfies our know-your-client requirements and our anti-money-laundering requirements, we would open a U.S.-dollar account,” said Scotiabank's Frank Switzer.
He said Scotiabank complies with Canada's Bank Act, but that it's also fully complying with U.S. rules.
RBC has more than 600,000 U.S.-dollar accounts in Canada and says non-compliance with U.S. regulations could jeopardize its ability to offer those services.
It has some reason to be concerned. Two years ago, U.S. authorities fined ABN Amro $80-million (U.S.), partly because the Dutch bank violated U.S. sanction laws.
Canadian rules work the same way for Canadian-dollar accounts in other countries, he said. “It's not an incursion into Canadian sovereignty,” Mr. Moorcroft said.
Several immigrant groups said Canadian banks should reject U.S. interference with the country's banking system.
“We're asking Canadian banks not to follow the intimidation and blackmailing of the American administration,” said Mohamed Elmasry, head of the Canadian Islamic Congress. “The U.S. should not have the right to dictate to Canadian banks which citizen or person is allowed to open a bank account in a certain currency.”
He said the move amounts to “racial profiling.”
Many immigrants use U.S.-dollar accounts to send money home because that's the only currency banks will recognize in making international wire transfers.
Communities affected by the RBC measures yesterday reacted with a mix of anger and contempt.
But an Iranian community organizer in Montreal said he didn't expect fellow expatriates to be negatively affected by the measures. Canadian Iranian business owners will simply find another bank, or another way to do business, Reza Zarin said.
“Most of this is just propaganda,” he said. “Most probably if the people are in business and they really need to have accounts with U.S. [dollars], I'm sure there are all kinds of sources out there they can use.”
Ottawa says it plays no role in policing U.S.-currency accounts at Canadian banks.
Eric Richer, press secretary to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, said U.S.-currency accounts at Canadian banks are processed through American banks in the United States, which means that those accounts — and the banks offering them — must comply with U.S. law.
“This is how banks that choose to have U.S.-dollar accounts have to work,” Mr. Richer said. “It's under U.S. law.”
Mr. Richer said Canada's banking laws guarantee all Canadian citizens basic banking services in domestic currency — but not foreign currencies. “The Canadian government doesn't have the authority to change U.S. law.”
RBC, meantime, says its policy is geared toward people who don't live in Canada full-time. People who have had their account closed can appeal the decision, it says
TAVIA GRANT AND ALEX DOBROTA
Globe and Mail Update
<!-- dateline -->TORONTO AND OTTAWA<!-- /dateline --> — Royal Bank of Canada has closed the U.S.-dollar chequing accounts of hundreds of dual-citizen Canadians and refuses to open new ones — a move it asserts was necessary to comply with U.S. rules on antiterrorism and money laundering.
The decision, which has prompted charges of discrimination and racial profiling, has affected “a couple of hundred” Canadian citizens with dual nationalities of Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea or Myanmar since April, RBC spokesman David Moorcroft said yesterday.
Mr. Moorcroft stressed that RBC, which has the most U.S.-dollar accounts in Canada, is simply complying with U.S. Treasury Department rules that govern any dealings with the U.S. currency.
“These are not rules made by Royal Bank, ... they are rules for banks all over the world,” he said.
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The move, first reported by the CBC, sparked concern among many Canadian immigrants who need U.S.-dollar accounts to send money home or make global payments.
Closing accounts will unjustly target those who are sending money to relatives in their country of origin, said Dak Nyuon, president of the African Sudanese Association of Calgary. Many Sudanese Canadians prefer to send U.S. currency to their families, he said.
“This is discrimination of people who have a dual citizenship,” Mr. Nyuon said of the regulations. “We are not a threat to Canadian security.”
Finance experts called RBC's move unprecedented.
“In my experience, I know of no precedent,” said Don Brean, a professor of finance and business economics at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto. “It smacks of discrimination.”
Mr. Moorcroft said U.S. authorities have fined several European banks million of dollars for not complying with these regulations, and that failure to follow the rules could mean banks like RBC would be prohibited from offering any U.S.-dollar chequing accounts.
“It's their currency, it's their dollar, it's their clearing system,” he said. “It's their right and they've made that very clear.”
Since Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. authorities have clamped down on terrorism financing and beefed up money-laundering controls.
The Treasury Department has also introduced economic sanctions regulations, which prohibit certain people from holding U.S.-dollar accounts.
Toronto-Dominion Bank and the Bank of Nova Scotia said they still offer U.S.-dollar accounts to people who meet their criteria — regardless of nationality.
“If a person in that circumstance has the correct ID, and satisfies our know-your-client requirements and our anti-money-laundering requirements, we would open a U.S.-dollar account,” said Scotiabank's Frank Switzer.
He said Scotiabank complies with Canada's Bank Act, but that it's also fully complying with U.S. rules.
RBC has more than 600,000 U.S.-dollar accounts in Canada and says non-compliance with U.S. regulations could jeopardize its ability to offer those services.
It has some reason to be concerned. Two years ago, U.S. authorities fined ABN Amro $80-million (U.S.), partly because the Dutch bank violated U.S. sanction laws.
Canadian rules work the same way for Canadian-dollar accounts in other countries, he said. “It's not an incursion into Canadian sovereignty,” Mr. Moorcroft said.
Several immigrant groups said Canadian banks should reject U.S. interference with the country's banking system.
“We're asking Canadian banks not to follow the intimidation and blackmailing of the American administration,” said Mohamed Elmasry, head of the Canadian Islamic Congress. “The U.S. should not have the right to dictate to Canadian banks which citizen or person is allowed to open a bank account in a certain currency.”
He said the move amounts to “racial profiling.”
Many immigrants use U.S.-dollar accounts to send money home because that's the only currency banks will recognize in making international wire transfers.
Communities affected by the RBC measures yesterday reacted with a mix of anger and contempt.
But an Iranian community organizer in Montreal said he didn't expect fellow expatriates to be negatively affected by the measures. Canadian Iranian business owners will simply find another bank, or another way to do business, Reza Zarin said.
“Most of this is just propaganda,” he said. “Most probably if the people are in business and they really need to have accounts with U.S. [dollars], I'm sure there are all kinds of sources out there they can use.”
Ottawa says it plays no role in policing U.S.-currency accounts at Canadian banks.
Eric Richer, press secretary to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, said U.S.-currency accounts at Canadian banks are processed through American banks in the United States, which means that those accounts — and the banks offering them — must comply with U.S. law.
“This is how banks that choose to have U.S.-dollar accounts have to work,” Mr. Richer said. “It's under U.S. law.”
Mr. Richer said Canada's banking laws guarantee all Canadian citizens basic banking services in domestic currency — but not foreign currencies. “The Canadian government doesn't have the authority to change U.S. law.”
RBC, meantime, says its policy is geared toward people who don't live in Canada full-time. People who have had their account closed can appeal the decision, it says
