From Washington state to Florida, surprising letters from banks have turned up in the mailboxes of at least a dozen people.
The message in each case: Your bank account is being closed. What frustrates the recipients is not only that they are all of Middle Eastern descent — leading them to suspect discrimination — but that the banks refused to provide the reason for kicking them out.
“We never understood what’s going on,” said Abdul-Hyee Waqas, who had his Bellevue, Wash., nonprofit group’s account closed. “We had been a good customer. It was very disheartening.”
Last summer, a Minneapolis dentist went so far as to write detailed explanations of all his transactions, hoping that TCF Bank would let him reopen the joint account with his wife and his personal account. The response: Sorry, we’re not interested in your business. – Continue
