A Canadian bank with a backbone

[mykonos]

http://money.ca.msn.com/video?cp-documentid=cbcc2012-1107-1352-0038-225520364200

I have no doubt that those who had their accounts closed was for very good reasons.

 

[Brotherman]

Another reason to switch to ING Direct.

TD Bank is a disgrace. They didn't even let those Iranian-Canadians clear their names.

Go to a lawyer, and file a charter violation.

 

[Insidious Von]

TD-Canada Trust's SI is one of the best in the business. They don't make these decisions without due diligence, if these accounts were closed then they must have uncovered a smoking gun.

As for ING Direct they have lost some of their luster. They are beholden to the ECB and have been cutting interest rates on their accounts.

 

[fun-guy]

TD-Canada Trust's SI is one of the best in the business. They don't make these decisions without due diligence, if these accounts were closed then they must have uncovered a smoking gun.

As for ING Direct they have lost some of their luster. They are beholden to the ECB and have been cutting interest rates on their accounts.

I don't know and won't speculate why TD-Canada Trust closed their accounts but one thing I do know based on personal experience is that TD-Canada Trust has lost a lot of its customer service luster. Canada Trust used to be the best in customer service in its day and TD sucked. After the amalgamation the positive influence of Canada Trust on TD was evident and service overall improved for a few years, however I've noticed in the last few years it's been going downhill. The irony of all this is Ed Clark, CEO of TD-Canada Trust, was a former exec of Canada Trust in London and was a huge proponent of customer service but has lost that vision the last few years.

I also agree on ING, its market entry high interest savings rate strategy has done its job, they were able to take market share away and rates have been slowly coming down. Another institution who did the same was Canadian Tire Bank, their high interest TFSA account is slowly coming down from its peak.

 

[Madeline Rhodes]

I'm sorry but I actually don't agree with what is being done.

It would be one thing if these people were contravening the sanctions. This is not the case.

I have had a number of Iranian-Canadian friends over the years. The majority of them have very strong feelings against Iran. They and their families came here to get away from that life. This doesn't mean they might not have sent amounts of money back for family still living there. Many who have emigrated to another country do this. These actions may have even been something that took place in the past, but no longer takes place.

I don't think that the courses of action taken are the correct way to handle things.

Here is the updated information:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/B...adian+Congress+over+closed/6922289/story.html

OTTAWA — TD Bank Group has agreed to meet with the Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) to discuss the closures of the bank accounts of some of its Iranian-Canadian clients, according to the vice-president of the ICC who received an email from the bank late Wednesday night.
Kaveh Shahrooz, vice-president of the ICC, received the email from TD Wednesday around 10 p.m. asking to meet with the organization in two weeks. The bank’s email was in response to an email sent by the ICC Tuesday inquiring about the bank account closures, an action taken by TD in response to the Canadian sanctions against Iran.
“We are cautiously optimistic about this. We think it’s a good gesture by TD to reach out to us. We hope that it will be a constructive meeting and that we can express our concerns to them,” said Shahrooz Wednesday night.
Last week, the Citizen reported TD had begun sending letters to clients whose accounts it had closed. The letters told clients that under recent changes to the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulation, Canadian financial institutions are forbidden from providing financial services to anyone in Iran or for the benefit of Iran.
TD began sending the letters to Iranian-Canadians across the country as early as the beginning of May, according to those who have received them. The Canadian Bankers Association said it is up to each Canadian bank individually to ensure compliance with economic sanctions against Iran.
On Monday, the Iranian embassy in Ottawa, the Association des Juristes Persans du Québec and the Iranian Canadian Lawyers’ Association criticized TD’s actions.
While it is unknown how many Iranian-Canadians have been affected by the account closures, there are reports coming out of Ottawa, Toronto and British Columbia. The ICC held a fact-finding meeting in Toronto Saturday, where at least 100 Iranian-Canadians affected by the closures showed up to share their story.
The ICC hopes the meeting with TD will establish a process allowing those whose accounts have been closed to have their issues heard by the bank. In the absence of the bank’s CEO, Shahrooz said the group will meet with a “high-ranking executive” instead.
Shahrooz admitted an earlier meeting would have been good but said he understands TD executives are probably busy.
Although Shahrooz was disappointed by TD’s statement Tuesday saying they could not provide additional information to former customers, he said Wednesday night’s meeting proposal from the bank is a step in the right direction.
More to come.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

 

[Big Sleazy]

Face it. We are rapidly moving towards becoming a Fascist country that has no respect for individual rights or freedoms. People better wake up or they're going to end up like a boiling frog one day.

BS

 

[asterwald]

Face it. We are rapidly moving towards becoming a Fascist country that has no respect for individual rights or freedoms. People better wake up or they're going to end up like a boiling frog one day.

BS

Exactly. thats why we need the NDP in power.

 

[rld]

Another reason to switch to ING Direct.

TD Bank is a disgrace. They didn't even let those Iranian-Canadians clear their names.

Go to a lawyer, and file a charter violation.

The banks are regulated by the Charter?

 

[oldjones]

Well, we did used to call them chartered banks. In any serious sanction against individuals, there should be a place for due and fair process. TD certainly seems to have allowed for very little. From the stories I encountered, I believe ScotiaBank were more judicious and thoughtful.

If the action was to halt direct transfers to and from Iran that might be done arbitrarily, but what they did was decide that persons X, Y and Z were 'persons we cannot do business with' because of some unstated and undefined relationship they perhaps have with Iran or Iranians, and terminated all accounts, even those of long standing.

As if all Iranians build nuclear warheads, the way all nigras rape white wimmin.

 

[blackrock13]

Face it. We are rapidly moving towards becoming a Fascist country that has no respect for individual rights or freedoms. People better wake up or they're going to end up like a boiling frog one day.

BS

Since you don't know the profiles of the 100 or so people involved or the account activity in the accounts you know embarrassedly little to make the claim that freezing these account was unreasonable.

 

[blackrock13]

Well, we did used to call them chartered banks. In any serious sanction against individuals, there should be a place for due and fair process. TD certainly seems to have allowed for very little. From the stories I encountered, I believe ScotiaBank were more judicious and thoughtful.

Different charter, but hey, you knew that.

 

[oldjones]

Since you don't know the profiles of the 100 or so people involved or the account activity in the accounts you know embarrassedly little to make the claim that freezing these account was unreasonable.

And absent any statements to the contrary about them, we could say the same about the banks claim that it's reasonable or required. Surely we're not yet at the level where 'You have to trust us that they broke the secret law, the secret evidence proves it'.

 

[blackrock13]

And absent any statements to the contrary about them, we could say the same about the banks claim that it's reasonable or required. Surely we're not yet at the level where 'You have to trust us that they broke the secret law, the secret evidence proves it'.

Since it's only just happened, it's possible there is investigations going on and this is being kept low profile. They certainly aren't making that claim to this point.

 

[oldjones]

When you abruptly chuck a whole buncha people and their money and business outta your bank you'd have to be pretty foolish to imagine you were 'keeping a low profile'. And when your reason is merely, 'you are a person we cannot do business with' but you give neither evidence nor authority you will arouse curiosity.

It's not as if the name Iran had to be introduced to our media. I am led to believe partly because they treat people so unfairly there, that some have sought refuge here. Where we don't.

 

[Aardvark154]

It sounds like some here want nationalized banks that cannot refuse accounts to anyone.

Furthermore that they do not believe in international economic sanctions.

 

[blackrock13]

When you abruptly chuck a whole buncha people and their money and business outta your bank you'd have to be pretty foolish to imagine you were 'keeping a low profile'. And when your reason is merely, 'you are a person we cannot do business with' but you give neither evidence nor authority you will arouse curiosity.

It's not as if the name Iran had to be introduced to our media. I am led to believe partly because they treat people so unfairly there, that some have sought refuge here. Where we don't.

Iwasn't aware they threw the money away. Where is it now? IIRC, the money gets sent to some special federal account sim lar to the money that is in accounts that gets closed because of inactivity, ie, when someone dies and no one clams the balance in the account. Maybe it's only in that special suspense accounts that banks have. The bankers on TERB can clear that one up.

 

[fun-guy]

^^^My understanding is the money was returned to the account holders and not chucked away, according to an Iranian official interviewed on CBC.

 

[blackrock13]

^^^My understanding is the money was returned to the account holders and not chucked away, according to an Iranian official interviewed on CBC.

Fair enough. now if someone can expand on the reason it will help the guessing in this thread.

 

[oldjones]

Iwasn't aware they threw the money away.…edit

I didn't mean to suggest the officials somehow 'trashed' their money, or burned it or swiped it. My phrase 'chucked outta the bank' was deliberately inexact, because it's a detail I don't know. I was once startled to see the Custodian of Enemy Property listed in the government phonebook in the 70's, so I suspect you may be right about a special government account. Anyway I'm sure the banks are scrupulous about accurate records of such and that they didn't just pile the stuff up on the steps like a slum landlord with a defaulting tenant's furniture.

Even if we assume, the Iranians' money is immediately available as soon as they have a mattress ready to stash it under, in this day and age, suddenly discovering you have no bank accounts or bank business is akin to catastrophe. And even for defaulting tenants there's due process.

 

[blackrock13]

I didn't mean to suggest the officials somehow 'trashed' their money, or burned it or swiped it. My phrase 'chucked outta the bank' was deliberately inexact, because it's a detail I don't know. I was once startled to see the Custodian of Enemy Property listed in the government phonebook in the 70's, so I suspect you may be right about a special government account. Anyway I'm sure the banks are scrupulous about accurate records of such and that they didn't just pile the stuff up on the steps like a slum landlord with a defaulting tenant's furniture.

Even if we assume, the Iranians' money is immediately available as soon as they have a mattress ready to stash it under, in this day and age, suddenly discovering you have no bank accounts or bank business is akin to catastrophe. And even for defaulting tenants there's due process.

Fair enough.