A Brocker from Switzerland sent me this – the Ambassador there sent a letter in September to the Swiss banks concerning the ongoing problem of closed accounts.
The original (German) from Handelszeitung is here
Perhaps one of our German-speaking Brockers could translate/paraphrase from the comments section.
An explanation (English) regarding the Ambassador’s acts & the situation is here
Excerpts:
The top U.S. representative in Switzerland deplored the fact that Swiss banks closed the accounts of U.S. citizens and turned away new clients. LeVine wrote that she had received numerous letters from fellow Americans complaining that they didn’t have access to basic banking services in Switzerland.
…..Unfortunate Timing
The letter was sent to numerous banks, for instance Migros Bank and at least to one bank that still awaits a fine in connection with the tax dispute in the U.S., according to the «Handelszeitung» report. The timing of the letter thus appears a little unfortunate and will have caused some irritation.
A string of Swiss banks this year still were occupied with closing the tax dispute with the U.S., with fines the normal outcome of the U.S. investigations. The institutes not just had to plead guilty to violating U.S. laws in conjunction with their business with U.S. clients, but also had to promise to remain on a righteous path in the future – at least in respect to the U.S.
…The criticism leveled at Swiss bank by LeVine isn’t just tough to take because of the timing, but also because of what it implies. Some banks were ruthless in closing the dossiers of U.S. citizens, no doubt. But today’s reluctance to have any dealings with U.S. clients has more to do with hard business facts.
Banking for the Rich
Banking in compliance with U.S. regulation is so expensive that business with the normal, moderately wealthy expat doesn’t pay off. And given the unpredictable behavior of the U.S. authorities in tax issues, the risks and costs far outweigh the potential benefit of offering services to the 20,000 U.S. expats.
Swiss banks of course still do business with U.S. clients. About 40 companies have specifically licensed unit for that purpose. But of course: those services are restricted to the very rich, making it worthwhile. Several asset managers are also working on their onshore services in the U.S.
Swiss banking is still interested in U.S. customers. But not exactly in the way U.S. Ambassador LeVine had hoped for.
The letter is here: Letter from Susie
@ Richard M. Stevens
Oh my. Your letter was not what I was expecting when I first started to read it. You used that ever so effective tool of sarcasm very well. 🙂 If Ambassador Susie-Q in Switzerland truly understood the depth and breadth of the problem of CBT/FBAR/FATCA, she would not have put forth such a shallow “solution”. I imagine eyes rolled and heads shook in disbelief upon receipt of her letter.
@Richard M Stevens
Well said, but I doubt that she will even understand,for she has been fed the honeydew of American exceptionalism.
Susie-Q is trying to put out a forest fire with a garden hose.
She should just keep her mouth shut like Canada’s US ambassador does and tweet about Halloween, voting and how great things are between the two countries.
BTW, Q3’s ‘Liberty List’ is late! How scary is it?
@ Bubblebustin
If you ask me, all US ambassadors live in La-la-land. They wear rose-coloured glasses, suck on very exceptional US-made lollipops and stick their fingers in their ears when anyone pleads with them to do something substantial to address the problem of CBT/FBAR/FATCA.
@EmB
They are political appointments, so will tow the line or lose their job.
@ heidi
If the embassies were operating on the foundations of reason and integrity then the ambassadors would collectively empathize with overseas Americans and forcefully advocate for them. But sadly that’s just not the way things work these days.
I wrote my Dem Congressman Ami Bera about this, and all I got was a form letter in return, about how he’s bringing the money home from abroad to “create jobs” and “build infrastructure” and how he won’t let regulations “burden” the U.S. economy. It feels like a slap in the face.
Expats need to make Dems pay for this at ths ballot box. Bera’s in a safe district, but you could make a difference in the close races.
Boy…..that letter was SCORCHING !! OUCH!
@Richard M Stevens
Great letter! The only thing I might add is that if Ambassador LeVine truly wants to help the unfortunate US persons in Switzerland (and elsewhere in Europe), in addition to all the steps you mention, she should make the renunciation process as painless and efficient as possible (within the limits of DoS guidelines), by opening up as many appointment slots as necessary. At USD2350 per renunciation, they can afford to hire enough staff to cover the demand.
@Richard M Stevens
Right on!
Let Amb Suzi chew on that one for a while.
Here’s my response to Congressman Bera:
Hon. Ami Bera:
I thank you for your responses to my email, but neither of your responses actually addresses my concerns, which relate to the difficulties on middle-class and working-class Americans residing abroad and “accidental Americans” imposed by legislation Congress passed as part of the HIRE Act in 2010, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), as well as the exceptional policy of citizenship-based taxation, which according to UVA Law Professor Ruth Mason is only practiced by the United States.
You mention the Partnership to Build America Act which would give multinational corporations incentives to bring their money home to the U.S., but it doesn’t address my concern at all about the impact that FATCA and citizenship-based taxation have on U.S. _natural persons_ who live abroad. My concern is that they are being hurt by legislation enacted by Congress, as noted by a number of authors, including law professors Ruth Mason and Allison Christians.
You mention regulations not burdening the U.S. economy, but I am not talking about the U.S. economy. I am talking about our regulations, enacted by the U.S. government, that hurt economies and U.S. citizens living abroad, who number about 7 or 8 million. Please keep in mind that U.S. citizens living abroad can still vote, and many are rightly angry about the current situation, they are much more politically organized than in 2012, and many more intend to vote than ever before.
I am disappointed by your non-answers. I am asking, again, what are you doing to assist working-class and middle-class U.S. natural persons who live abroad who are being hurt, as I demonstrated in my previous correspondence, by legislation enacted by Congress, of which you are a member? What relief do you intend to work with your colleagues to provide?
This is a very important issue for the Democrats to address, as not all people who live overseas are “fat cats”. I look forward to your response.
Nicely written @ beneficii. We should never settle for non-answers when politicians pretend to reply to our questions.
When all is said and done, the Department of the State ultimately only cares about the interests of the U.S. government. It is only interested in U.S. citizens abroad to the extent that this serves government interests, which means hardly at all. Everything else is Hollywood nonsense.
I made sure that Ambassador Levine DIRECTLY receives the letter and that she will read it!
Richard Stevens’ letter is outstanding! Have posted it on multiple FB sites, citizenshiptaxation.ca and it is being tweeted.
Really made my day!
‘neither of your responses actually addresses my concerns, which relate to the difficulties on middle-class and working-class Americans residing abroad and “accidental Americans”’
‘You mention the Partnership to Build America Act which would give multinational corporations incentives to bring their money home to the U.S’
You hit the nail on the head. Multinational corporations give bigger campaign contributions than middle-class and working-class Americans residing abroad and “accidental Americans”.
If you think Hon. Ami Bera will care about your e-mail enough to read it, think again.
Norman Diamond,
You’re right. I had the distinct impression his responses were form letters, probably put together by his aides.
What will it take to end this unjust system?
“What will it take to end this unjust system?”
Ask the Founding Fathers of the U.S. They resorted to armed revolution. Bunch of terrorists, they were.
According to a source, a letter writing/ emailing campaign has begun in Switzerland to request the USG to reduce the number of State Department facilities in the country from four to one. The background is that with the American population in decline, falling by 5 to 7% in the past four years, and amounting to only 20,000 when US citizens on temporary permits, there is no need to maintain an embassy in Bern, a consulate in Geneva, a consular agency in Zurich and a separate mission also in Geneva. Switzerland is not a large country. If it were a US state, geographically it would be the fourth smallest, ahead of only Rhode Island and Delaware and slightly larger than Connecticut. Bern is only one hour from Zurich and only 1 3/4 hours from Geneva by train.
This is a tit-for-tat exercise. I will plan to post more as information becomes available.
@beneficii
“…..end this unjust system”
There have been psychological experiments which have shown that if you give someone absolute power, they will abuse it. it seems to be in human nature. As time goes by, absolute power corrupts most people. The only thing which will stop this unjust system is for the power to be more evenly distributed among all.
In an interview with the Swiss newspaper, Der Bund, Suzan LeVine is claiming victory from her letter writing campaign to persuade Swiss banks to offer banking services to US citizens. An excerpt:
Der Bund: In October, you were criticized for complaining to the Swiss banks that they were no longer accepting US customers.
Suzan LeVine: Since I arrived here, I have often heard complaints of US citizens that they can no longer find a bank – some of them are Swiss-American dual-citizens. I asked many bankers if they could not accept US citizens again. The reactions were very positive.
DB: In what way?
SLV: Vontobel, Postfinance or Migros-Bank never stopped accepting US customers anyway. During discussions and meetings, however, we were also informed by UBS, Credit Suisse, Cornèr Bank and the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, under which conditions they are re-entering this business. We have expanded our offensive. In January 2017, we will publish a list of 24 Swiss banks that will accept US citizens as customers. 19 of them have only started again thanks to my newsletter. I am proud to be able to do this for US citizens.
DB: Can you not understand that the Swiss banks were no longer interested in US customers – after all that they have experienced with the US legal system?
SLV: When I came to Switzerland in 2014, there was actually a cloud over the bilateral relations because of the black money accounts. I have worked to ensure that our relationships are not only seen from this point of view. It was never about Switzerland as a country, but about US citizens who did not pay their taxes.
http://www.derbund.ch/wirtschaft/19-banken-nehmen-wieder-usbuerger-als-kunden-auf/story/26115487
To mention, Vontobel and Cornèr Bank are speciality banks and not retail banks. Vontobel offers private banking services to Americans with at least CHF 750’000/ CHF 1’000’000 to invest and Corner Bank is a credit card and private bank, with five branches in the Italian-speaking Swiss canton. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has branches in one canton, Vaud, although many Americans, especially US diplomats and functionaries, live there.
Time will tell what this new list of Swiss banks looks like and whether these banks will offer ordinary banking services, such as mortgages, to Americans in the country.
http://www.derbund.ch/wirtschaft/19-banken-nehmen-wieder-usbuerger-als-kunden-auf/story/26115487
I am sick of hearing this PR rubbish on how the Embassy is doing their best to ‘help’ Americans in Switzerland.
Maybe a Republican appointed Ambassador will understand the real damage the Obama administration and Fatca has caused.
Happy New Year to all!
@Innocente ” SLV: ….. In January 2017, we will publish a list of 24 Swiss banks that will accept US citizens as customers. 19 of them have only started again thanks to my newsletter. I am proud to be able to do this for US citizens.”
Does anybody know where this list will be published?
The attitude of Suzan LeVine and the USG is revealed in her quote……”We have expanded our offensive.”
The US government behaves just like any other tyrannical regime. They believe that if they repeat their lies often enough, people will begin to accept them as the truth. Within a few weeks they will take it to a whole new level with a brand new liar-in-chief.