tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post7366174608184457776..comments2023-09-23T11:16:00.352+02:00Comments on The Franco-American Flophouse has moved: Two Banks, Two Countries, Hassles All AroundVictoria FERAUGEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-6848420808931130282015-09-15T05:03:57.304+02:002015-09-15T05:03:57.304+02:00They were not consistent, Nezumi-san. We were tol...They were not consistent, Nezumi-san. We were told that bank personnel were not authorized to use any other language than Japanese and that my spouse had to reply in Japanese. That is their official position. Period.<br /><br />But he took a translator with him for the meeting about the wire transfers and they didn't say anything.<br /><br />So officially the bank staff can only talk to us in Japanese and we must answer in Japanese. Unofficially, I think the staff is ignoring that. :-)Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-68782638867429883502015-09-14T15:56:24.586+02:002015-09-14T15:56:24.586+02:00When they suddenly said "no more translator,&...When they suddenly said "no more translator," did they mean you could not even bring your own? If so, that would seem prima facie evidence of mauvaise foi.Inaka Nezuminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-78237262974450597742015-09-14T13:23:07.858+02:002015-09-14T13:23:07.858+02:00I do also see some reports on the net of Japanese ...I do also see some reports on the net of Japanese people being refused overseas transfers by MUFG because they could not produce some ridiculous paperwork. One brought some cash (a few thousand dollars' worth) from home to send, and the bank demanded a receipt to show where the money came from, which obviously isn't possible in that case. In another case, they refused to let a father send money (a few tens of thousand dollars' worth) to his daughter living in the US unless he showed proof of having paid gift tax on the money. But of course, without being able to send the money, there was no gift yet to pay tax on, and therefore no possible way to provide such proof. Catch-22.<br /><br />Of course there is no guarantee that your husband's nationality or birthplace was not the trigger for suspicion. But it sounds like that bank has a bad service culture in any case, or overly paranoid training materials. Taking your business elsewhere sounds like the right move.<br /><br />Inaka Nezuminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-42747400031796890922015-09-14T11:10:37.779+02:002015-09-14T11:10:37.779+02:00Nezumi-san, Thank you very much for checking that...Nezumi-san, Thank you very much for checking that out. I can understand laws that are designed to combat ML and possible terrorist activities. But the sums he wanted to transfer were pretty small and a check on his account would reveal immediately that his only income here in Japan comes from his local salary - an amount which is comfortable but not outrageous (the days of the glorious expat packages for mid- to upper-level managers are pretty much gone as far as I can tell). Were they suspicious because he's French? Or did they note that he was born in Algeria? Was the request for a money transfer a chance for them to encourage him to leave since they have never been too keen on having his business. <br /><br />What I do know is that he opened an account with another more foreigner-friendly bank and we were told that for the sums he wanted to transfer, not only was that not a problem but he could do it himself on-line. :-) Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-52028344288017518642015-09-14T10:02:49.636+02:002015-09-14T10:02:49.636+02:00Wow. I checked MUFG's web page, and they do in...Wow. I checked MUFG's web page, and they do indeed say they may demand proof of how the funds will be used for overseas transfers. They cite a 2008 anti-terrorism and -money-laundering law as the reason. Yikes!Inaka Nezuminoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-66789449469096190572015-09-14T08:16:05.976+02:002015-09-14T08:16:05.976+02:00One woman in France blocked my husband's work ...One woman in France blocked my husband's work permit for our company in France. We were able to shift to Switzerland after a two year tek of hoop jumping. I have no idea how to fight non budging obstructionists who seem to answer to no superior.DL NELSONhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12740409132697546671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-44488891095555796252015-09-14T07:52:50.806+02:002015-09-14T07:52:50.806+02:00Yes, that is exactly what the bank said. For the ...Yes, that is exactly what the bank said. For the small transfer that we wanted to do last week we would have to provide them with the original tax bill and the tuition bill before they would allow us to send the money back to France. For a future transfer if we leave Japan the bank said we would need even more documentation to prove what we would be using the money for in France. And it was up to them, they said, to decide if the documentation was sufficient or not. So the answer is that yes, they said they could keep our money in Japan. <br /><br />To be 100% sure I spoke with my spouse's Chief Financial Officer (and his Japanese translator that day) who went with him to the bank last week. She conformed what was said by the bank in Japanese and expressed her surprise that the bank had these kinds of rules. She had no idea, she said, and would not have recommended MUFG to us if she had known about that.Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-41494882346263407092015-09-14T06:55:16.747+02:002015-09-14T06:55:16.747+02:00What? -They can keep your money if you don't h...What? -They can keep your money if you don't have a specific (and good) reason to transfer it back to Europe from Japan? I can't believe it! (not that I'm intending to save any money here and take it back to Europe when we leave, but still.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com