Posted on 08/12/2015 5:02:10 AM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
Bank of America issued a statement July 28, halting Atlantic International Bank wire transfers, U.S. dollar bank drafts, and foreign currency transfers to and from Belize.
chl bofaAccording to the statement, Bank of America is exploring options for the flow of incoming and outgoing wires and hopes to find a solution to the issue. The issue is called de-risking and is in compliance with the regulations currently imposed on Caribbean and Central American regions by large U.S. and European banks. This process has severed ties with several smaller banking institutions.
The move caught U.S. expats in Belize by surprise and threatened to derail several real estate closings that were awaiting wire transfers. Several foreigners said they planned to change banks but others said they believed that all U.S. banks would soon follow suit.
“It’s another example of the U.S. government and banking system restricting the flow of people’s hard-earned money,” said Wilbur Simmons, a real estate investor.
De-risking is when a corresponding bank looks at the bank’s rating according to Caribbean Financial Action Task Force standards for the region. If the rating is good then they continue to do business and they extend the level of business that they do. But, if the rating is poor, then they cancel any agreements with that bank.
This is important to virtually any bank in the world. The U.S. dollar is used in banking systems present in almost every nation in the world and is the major currency for international trade. At some point this money may return to the United States. If the Justice Department decides that the money could be tainted, they can cut the bank from the system.
(Excerpt) Read more at cuencahighlife.com ...
Another one they pulled on me was holding up a $50,000 wire transfer on the closing of a house we had bought. The money was wired to us from my wife’s trust account in a BofA in Palm Springs to our joint account in the BofA in Seattle. They said they had to wait for it to clear before posting to the account!!!
Belize has the third highest murder rate in the world.
I stand corrected.
Belize has a population of 335,000, and a lot of gang murders in its capital area of Belize City.
My recent dive and jungle trip took me to Palcentia, Caye Caulker and San Pedro Ambergris Caye.
Very pleasant laid back areas without any detectable menace day or night. Sotheby’s real estate signs, and lots of new building going up along the shoreline.
I imagine that when the economic SHTF, expats will find that their rural island home areas will experience opportunistic city gangs paying a social visit.
Will try to post more objectively (research) before making general statements going forward.
https://www.osac.gov/Page/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=17216
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