Banking problems for gringos?

[colleen]

I have heard vague accounts that people can't get dollars put in their MX bank accounts and it being because of some reporting requirements to the IRS and that some bank accounts have been closed. I don't know which banks or any details. Our account is with Bancomer and we wire transfer dinero down here. Did it on Friday, got a good exchange rate and it was here in about an hour from our bank in Sturgeon Bay, WI. Does anyone know what banks are closing accounts or what the problem is? I was told by one of the ejecutivos in Bancomer not to deposit over, maybe, $5000 per day in pesos. I had a stack of bills I was going to deposit. Can't remember if it was $5000. But I know that they will take out MX tax if you put in too much. With a wire transfer from the US we've never had a problem or paid any tax.

Thanks for any info.

[raquelita]

As I understand it, at the other end, if a person has less than US$10,000 in a foreign account, the IRS isn't interested. How Mexican banks deal with this, I don't know.

[jesm]

As we understand this issue two different reporting activities are now underway. One is the US IRS FACTA requiring disclosure by foreign banks of accounts of US citizens to the IRS ( see http://www.sandiegored.com/noticias/5349...In-Mexico/). This may be viewed by a Mexican bank as too much hassle to warrant allowing such accounts to remain active. Check with your bank officer as to their position on compliance and continuance of an account for a US national.
The second activity involves the Mex government requiring reporting of large cash deposits by anyone into accounts here. Again as we understand this applies only to cash deposits, not checks, transfers, etc. The previously required tax on larger cash deposits is no longer in effect.
If anyone has further information or experience, especially first hand knowledge of any bank actually electing to arbitrarally close an account of a US national, that would be very good information to circulate.

[roberb7]

This may be viewed by a Mexican bank as too much hassle to warrant allowing such accounts to remain active.

A survey done of US citizens (which may mean some false positives) last month indicated that Actinver LLoyd, Banamex, and Intercam have closed accounts of US citizens.

A factoid from this survey I considered interesting, even if no one else does; the scope of the survey was worldwide, and the list includes four of Canada's "big five" chartered Canadian banks: Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Royal Bank, and TD Canada Trust. Again, I suspect some false positives here, but these are very profitable institutions, and the cost of compliance is chump change for them.