50........

You need to go to a smaller business bank to get better accounts system. They have better experience managing cashflow of small business. I think you have outgrown your current banking relationship. It is unwise to use credit cards on such a large scale, better to use bank letters of credit, wires, etc. You can also hire the bank to collect for you.

We only have 5 banks in Canada, numerous branches but they all come down to the big 5. If I could avoid using my credit card so much I would, but much easier than sending out wires or drafts and I get rewards on top of those purchases. And I have a great collections agency, I don't want my bank involved with the collections process.

WG

The only thing I have found with dealing with banks all these years...

Whenever you need money, they will never give it to you...

Whenever you don't need money, they give it to you like it's x-mas ;)

DH

Can you request a private banker to handle your accounts in Canada?

if my bank ever tried to pull that, i'd simply threaten to close my accounts.

I am in the same boat.half a million AUD in a bank a/c yet I have a credit rating of zero.haha.
I actually use my wifes cc for online purchases.

WoW!its 16% p.a interest here on CC debts.
Which is why Australian Banks fall over themselves to incease your limits.

I can see it for a one time thing, but not every year. Then again, I don't have big lines of credit and I have tons of debt :)

Yes,,that is indeed why they ask..money laundering.It is standard banking practice

Solution: www.swiss-bank-accounts.com

did you sign over the GIC to them ? or is just held at the bank ?

I would tell them to whistle, tell them to go on your track record for the past 4 yrs.You can always switch over to another bank which will gladly take over your existing credit card balance. You are Not asking for a business loan so they have no right to any of the info :2 cents:

Hate to break it to ya, but you're under survelliance by the powers that be.

Here's the deal. You make a lot, (probably an understatement), of money from a relatively UNKNOWN source, (to the bank business world). In the banking world, you fall under "suspicious activity". They want you to PROVE where the money is coming from so they know you are not laundering money. I guarantee the RCMP has a file on you and are watching your transactions like a hawk. Bascially they're covering their asses just in case it turns out you're laundering drug or terrorist money.

I've been through the training for this and this is a perfect example. One thing to note is if an employee at the bank tells you that you are under survelliance, they could be fired. BUT I guarantee you this is the situation. You can change banks if you want. But it won't change the fact that you make too much money from a relatively unknown or should I say, misunderstood source. That = suspicious activity and that = WG being watched. The good news is as long as you keep your nose clean, nothing will happen.

Overall nothing but standard procedure. This occurs in Canada AND the U.S. (The u.s. is even more paranoid, rightly so)

In other words, he's fucked. :disgust

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I have come to the same conclusion.
WG

Have you ever taken out a lot of credit or loans on your company before? I'm rather curious if this is normal practice for CDN banks.
WG

It is signed as a General Security Agreement, like a mortgage, if I default, they can seize it.
WG

So this is considered normal practice for my bank to make such a request? I wouldn't be surprised if I'm under watch by the CCRA (I was fully investigated for 2 years during an audit), but I can't forsee the RCMP doing the same.

WG

Sometimes the ugly response works a lot better.

Charles I'm having problems with my bank right now, too. They claim that they want to eliminate a good chunk of the paperwork involved with my account so they're switching me to "direct deposit" only. Yeh fuckin' right, I'm taking my checks elsewhere.

They won't cash your checks?
WG

Charles why don't you and I and maybe a couple of others become partners in a bank in Vanuatu?
it only needs $500,000 to become a bank here.
http://www.pkfvanuatu.com.vu/taxfree_banking.html
then you can have all the credit you want.

WorldPornBanc - In SEO We Trust :)
WG

Free Offshore accounts to all our porn friends, no income tax, free vanuatu residency permits to all customers with a/c's holding more than 20,000 US.
It wouldn't take long to be the biggest bank in the Sthn Hemisphere. :)

Yep it's normal. The RCMP is more like the enforcer but they do keep tabs. The real government agency, (in canada), is Fintrac, located here:

http://www.fintrac.gc.ca/intro_e.asp

You're not in trouble, it is standard procedure. But someone at the bank DID file a suspicious activity report on you in the past.

So what was so suspicious that set them off? Its not like its anything I could have prevented.
WG

Maybe they want to make sure you're not laundering money and you're actually paying taxes? Sounds odd to me though.

Help yourself with a few things. Get a second card and start building it up. I understand where you are coming from. My mainstream business runs a huge monthly visa charge and it freaks banks out even though I keep a positive balance to avoid any business interruptions. I had to send tax statements to my credit card company.

I would set up to deliver it personally. ask if it is an every year thing. Can he help you out etc. Let him set up some other account for you or an added feature. Develop a relationship. You are a big dog and they know it. They just need to know why.

I kind of already have this. I have 2 USD Visa's, I have a mutual fund account, savings, checking, and GIC's all with the bank. My manager is saying the financial statements is necessary due to the high credit limit so it seems I don't have much I can do about it.

WG

I think they just want to make sure you aren't a columbian drug runner. ;)

Ummm, they just want to ensure your company is remaining profitable. From a bank standpoint, small businesses come and go fairly easily. And getting commercial credit in Canada for a small business is extremely difficult. Very annoying. We've had a bunch of problems with our biz visa's as well.

So I actually use my personal one as it was easy to get a higher limit on it and submit an expense report and just pay it off every month. Hope CCRA doesn't figure out a way to count airmiles as taxable benefits.

there's no money in SEO

I know one person who got nailed pretty hard by the CCRA for using their Amex points for personal use.
WG

That's the way my bank is treating me :)
WG

The banking system sucks pretty much everywhere these days. Banks are terrified since 9/11 -- especially banks that do business in the US, of the Patriot Act and the other money laundering laws.

In the US, cash or instruments of cash, transactions that are more than 10,000 require a Cash Transaction Report to be filed with the government, including gambling winnings, cashiers checks, etc. There is also a form called the Suspicious Activity Report, which is filed on transactions over 5,000. What exactly constituted suspicious activity is pretty much a mystery to everyone at every bank and to most regulators. I was just reading an article in the business section last week about how the system is now inundated with so many SARS that the government can barely process them all -- basically banks are turning them in right and left in order to make sure they don't allow anything that might be considered suspicious go through without the form...

Can't you get a brokerage account somewhere, like a Merrill Lynch or a Morgan Stanley? Most brokerage houses offer programs that are identical to standard banking, usually with cheaper rates and more bells and whistles too...

So every check (or financial instrument) that I deposit over 10k gets filed with the government? Wow, they must have quite a few records from me. I can imagine that a lot of my deposits would be considered a Suspicious Activity as well since a lot of sponsors pay from offshore companies or from holdings companies.

WG

I don't know exactly how Canada handles it, but if there are US banks involved, I would guess there is some co-operation between the banks and the governments.

Frankly I think its shit of your bank to ask you for financials when you're not asking for credit per se, but I'm guessing they are aware of the audit and they see all the deposits from all over the world, and they want to make sure you're not doing something illegal... :(

In that case, I would imagine it is under US jurisdiction. Even though the account is up here in Canada, the actual transactions are settled in First National Bank in New York. I'm pretty sure the actual bank transactions occur in is in New York and I just deal with my local bank for convenience. That would probably explain why USD accounts here are not FDIC insured either.

WG

It's part of their legal inquiry. It sounds ok unless a person has somethign to hide.

Get a Virtual VISA in a Latvian Bank, e.g. www.parex.net - you can spend whatever is on your account, like with debit cards. Some More Latvian banks here:

http://www.rietumu.lv

http://www.paritate.com

http://www.lbb.lv

http://www.multibanka.com

http://www.unibanka.lv

Ah yes, Latvia, that bedrock of banking.

open several safetly deposit box's in switzerland

LOL, I'm sure after my 2 year audit, opening offshore accounts will go over well.
WG

Not sure about you but I would rather a bank has my tax returns then all of the sponsors who have my social security number.

I'm just being overly cautious as these documents indicate profit/loss, income sources, assets, etc. While something like this is not a big deal for a bank, in the wrong hands it could be.
WG