

HSBC bank won't let customers withdraw cash unless they prove why they need it - yapcguy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25861717

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Istof
Could they need that cash for their money laundering services somehow?
[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-02/hsbc-judge-
approves...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-02/hsbc-judge-
approves-1-9b-drug-money-laundering-accord.html)

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PhantomGremlin
HSBC is run by a bunch of douche bags and criminals. IMO they should have been
put out of business for the continued laundering of drug money that they did
_for years_. And the "responsible" corporate officers should have all been
thrown in jail. Just fining the bank (i.e. the shareholders) doesn't do
anything to punish the perpetrators.

However, it's a fact of life that as people age, they become more vulnerable
to scammers. Many old people are tricked into withdrawing cash from the bank
at the behest of scammers. Whether it's for roof repairs, or for driveway
resurfacing, or to help a long-lost niece, older people are often victims of
flimflam artists. This happens a lot. It's on the news a lot. I personally
know older people who were victimized by scammers. Unfortunately the article
didn't mention the ages of the depositors.

As the bank says in the article: "we have an obligation to protect our
customers, and to minimise the opportunity for financial crime".

So I do see HSBC's point. But, as the article discusses, the whole thing
should have been handled much better.

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ergoproxy
"By law, when you put your money into a deposit account, your money becomes
the property of the bank. You become an unsecured creditor with a claim
against the bank." Source: Depositors Beware: Theft is Legal for Big Banks,
and Your Money Will Never Be Safe (May 01, 2013)
[http://www.globalresearch.ca/depositors-beware-theft-is-
lega...](http://www.globalresearch.ca/depositors-beware-theft-is-legal-for-
big-banks-and-your-money-will-never-be-safe/5333631)

HSBC is a criminal bank. Here are a few more reasons why:

1\. They were caught "transferring funds on the behalf of financiers for the
militant group Hezbollah." Source: HSBC Gets Small Fine For Terrorist
Transactions (12/18/2013) [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/hsbc-
terrorists_n_4...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/hsbc-
terrorists_n_4467329.html)

2\. HSBC laundered $881 million for Mexican and Colombian drug cartels.
Source: HSBC Became Bank to Drug Cartels, Pays Big for Lapses (Tuesday, 11 Dec
2012) [http://www.cnbc.com/id/100303180](http://www.cnbc.com/id/100303180)

3\. "HSBC profited nicely from the bailout of AIG." Source: HSBC received $3.5
Billion of AIG bailout money (1 October, 2009)
[http://hsbcwatch.com/hsbcnews/news/hsbc-
received-35-billion-...](http://hsbcwatch.com/hsbcnews/news/hsbc-
received-35-billion-of-aig-bailout-money)

4\. This analysis suggests HSBC is 64% likely to go bankrupt in the next two
years: [http://www.macroaxis.com/invest/ratio/0005.HK--
Probability-O...](http://www.macroaxis.com/invest/ratio/0005.HK--Probability-
Of-Bankruptcy)

In the 90s, I was a VP for a Wall St. Mortgage Bank. The culture there is very
corrupt. IMHO, you'd be better off keeping your money hidden in your mattress,
using it to buy physical gold, or converting it bitcoins than keeping it in a
big bank.

I predict that the next time the financial system collapses, the banks will be
"bailed in." In other words, governments are already too deeply in debt to
afford to bail out the banks again. Instead, the banks will simply seize their
depositors' money, perhaps issuing them stock in the bank in exchange. This is
what already happened in Cyprus. And HSBC may very well be testing the waters
to see how feasible it is to confiscate their depositors' cash in the UK and
US, given how close they are to bankruptcy.

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charleswalter
apparently we don't own our own money

