TD has said this is required by Canadian sanctions recently imposed on financial transactions with Iran. But no other bank in Canada is reported as closing any accounts held by Iranian-Canadians. Many in the Iranian community have accused TD of ethnic bias, while others think the bank has over-reacted and mis-interpreted the new sanctions.
Some Iranian-Candians only learned their accounts had been closed when a merchant handed back their credit card and told them ot wasn’t valid. Others report they have been told they must pay back bank loans immediately.
Members of the Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) indicated they didn’t emerge from the hour-long meeting at the TD Canada Trust Tower with any promises. But they said they left with a sense that their concerns were finally being heard.
In a news release after the meeting, the ICC said, “In response to ICC concerns, TD indicated that it now better understands the difficulties caused for the Iranian-Canadian community and that it will address the issue more seriously in the future.” But nothing was said about reopening accounts.
During the meeting, TD said it stressed that the recent decisions to close the accounts “were not based on ethnicity, a person’s name or a particular community.” The bank reiterated its plan to “reach out” to some Iranian-Canadians whose accounts were closed.
The meeting was held exactly two weeks after the Ottawa Citizen reported that TD Bank Group had been sending letters since May to Iranian-Canadian clients whose accounts it had closed. The letters told clients that under recent changes to the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulation, Canadian financial institutions are forbidden from providing financial services to anyone in Iran or for the benefit of Iran, and anyone who provided and retained an active residential or employment address in Iran.
According to the Canadian Bankers Association, it is up to each bank individually to ensure compliance with economic sanctions. All other Canadian banks appear to be interpreting the new regulations differently from TD, formerly Toronto Dominion.
Kaveh Shahrooz, vice-president of the ICC, said in the press release, “We recognize that TD operates in a complex regulatory environment, but believe it is imperative that customers who have not violated Canadian laws are not harmed.”
The ICC said it plans to assist the bank with its community outreach in the next 30 days and hold a public forum for Iranian-Canadians affected by the closures to make TD’s intentions known.
There are 23 Canadian banks—that is, banks that are not subsidiaries of foreign-owned banks—operating in Canada. TD is the sixth largest bank in Canada in terms of assets and serves 11 million customers. TD also operates in the Eastern United States, where it has 6.5 million customers.
