one of the lead items in this evening's CBC radio news was a gentleman in Montreal wanting to open a US$ account with the Royal Bank of Canada. They asked him various questions which I would not have thought appropriate to a bank, one of which was his citizenship. When he replied that he had dual citizenship in Iran / Canada, the account was refused.
RBC claims to be following US regulations by denying US$ accounts to dual citizens of Canada + any of Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea and Myanmar.
I'm not sure that this is legitimately the business of the US government. US dollars are not the property of the US government, instead, they are fiscal obligations of that government. As long as the currency is neither forged nor stolen, it is not the business of the US government, I would have thought, if, for instance, (as was the case) I gave my nephew American cash to spend on a cruise this Christmas on a ship flying some flag of convenience (certainly not US, and not in US waters).
The putative bank account would have contained property of a Canadian citizen in Canada, in a bank that is a Canadian fiscal institiution.
A similar instance of extraterritoriality came up a few weeks ago -- a hotel in Norway or Sweden, owned by a US chain, is being taken before the local human rights commission for refusing Cuban guests.
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US$ accounts in Canajun banks
Date: 2007-01-17 12:38 am (UTC)RBC claims to be following US regulations by denying US$ accounts to dual citizens of Canada + any of Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea and Myanmar.
The CBC News story is here
I'm not sure that this is legitimately the business of the US government. US dollars are not the property of the US government, instead, they are fiscal obligations of that government. As long as the currency is neither forged nor stolen, it is not the business of the US government, I would have thought, if, for instance, (as was the case) I gave my nephew American cash to spend on a cruise this Christmas on a ship flying some flag of convenience (certainly not US, and not in US waters).
The putative bank account would have contained property of a Canadian citizen in Canada, in a bank that is a Canadian fiscal institiution.
A similar instance of extraterritoriality came up a few weeks ago -- a hotel in Norway or Sweden, owned by a US chain, is being taken before the local human rights commission for refusing Cuban guests.
good luck with YOUR bank accounts.