November 21, 2010, 12:09 PM ET
http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-currents/2010/11/21/us-banks-retreat-from-embassy-business-because-of-aml-rules/
Some major U.S. banks are stopping or curtailing services to foreign embassies and missions in the face of stringent money-laundering regulations, The Wall Street Journal reported.
State Department officials, fearing diplomatic repercussions, have been in discussions with several banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and HSBC Holdings PLC’s HSBC Bank USA. The State Department said that about 40 countries have been affected, 16 of which are African nations.
“It’s a commercial decision, but clearly it has ramifications for diplomatic relations,” Mark Toner, acting deputy spokesman for the State Department, told the Journal. “We want these foreign missions to be able to carry out their normal diplomatic functions here in the U.S.”