US bank closing UN diplomatic accounts
New York City, NY, United States (AHN) – JP Morgan Chase bank has informed all 192 United Nations member states that it will close its UN branch by the end of March, along with all business accounts and credit cards there.
Chase has advised UN nations to seek business accounts and credit cards with other financial institutions while saying that personal accounts would not be affected.
UN member nations are reportedly upset by the news. Although many UN missions have accounts at other banks, Chase was the only bank with retail operations at UN headquarters.
Chase gave no reason for its action in the letter it sent to UN missions. However, observers speculate that it was caused of the high cost of complying with U.S. government regulations designed to prevent money laundering or aiding terrorism.
Last year, new regulations kicked in that require reporting all transactions with overseas clients regardless of the amount versus the old regulations that only required reporting amounts over $10,000.
Although many of the UN member nations have business accounts with other banks, some of the smaller developing nations do not. The situation could affect the UN budget.
U.S. officials have met with UN ambassadors to discuss the situation and assure them that the bank was acting solely because of commercial concerns.
Under the 1947 agreement to host the UN headquarters, U.S. officials have an obligation to facilitate the day-to-day operations of UN missions without hindering them. However, U.S. officials do not have any legal authority to affect the business decisions of a private bank.
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