need some opinions from some of our bankers friends who read this board.

Our house put forward a client to DB in Germany, cannot name the branch because it is still on ongoing situation.

The client is wealthy not fabulously wealthy but of very good standing and a previous track record in purchase securities.

he was decline by DB today because of a ''criminal'' record. Whilst we were aware of the situation we did not believe his situtation to be in the least bit criminal. Shows what securities houses know and differentiate between.

Because he is being sued by his wife of 35 years DB refused to sell on the grounds that the securities could become part of a legal decision.

(BTW before anyone goes guessing it is not the former singer of Wings and the Beatles)

I am wondering if any of our banker friends and experienced brokers have come across such a situation, even more so have they come about this ''criminal'' status that the banks now seem to bring to the forefront.

could one of the bankers out there kindly confirm this ''criminal'' status and what actions are governed by this when making such a decision.

To the non registered brokers who wish to apply try and be constructive, because is an important issue and could explain why a lot of deals break down, which may not be the fault of most non registered brokers.

Before anyone asks we did not inform DB of the status of the Clients personal life, this arose from their own DD. We did not believe we we doing a disservice to the client. We identified the instrument, contacted DB and assured them of our clients capability to purchase.


Also for those brokers out there seeking MTNS our client was seeking a ''seasoned'' Mtn coupon attached, guess what todays market price was.

stand by for a shock. It was 98.75 percent of face value. coupon 6.5 percent denomination euro

dealing with DB you will find them going the extra line in specific situations and they are not shy closing an account or denying a contract when they feel like it, even if your birth date is different than the same or similared person which is on the list.

We do this mostly the same, however we do not follow a set path but do a case by case evaluation.

Depending on the jurisdiction your client is coming from the risk assessment can be from: No,No,No in regards of a US client in a divorce to a No Problem for the same divorce in a different jurisdiction.

Generally banks do not like the risk to be part of a lawsuit.

Anyhow I have seen DB taking such clients when the income was okay.

Your client with his criminal record is obviously long out of that and needs that record purged, and needs to use a special purpose company which originates the money and have a bank fronting the origin, he should be okay with some banks, like BBVA or Santander or Fortis or even Societe Generale, if he is US God help him, he needs serious counsel.

You would probably be surprized to what length our assessment goes, we go the triple extra road in our environment but we are always looking longterm. The price quote is not a surprize.

He is a US citizen with funds offshore, legitimately earned from construction and property development. DB i believe were wrong because the history of funds are well documented in the media re his successes. I believe hime to be a victim of his own success and a greedy expartner trying to obtain further funds.

Richard, what is the actual position with regard to this ''Criminal'' status that banks adopt.

is this related string to financial crime, embezzlement, moneylaundering, tax evasion. the usual one we know about, or do the banks simply mean any criminal activity then the client is not acceptable. The reason i ask is that drink driving is now a serious criminal offence the UK and most of Europe, should that debar someone with a good income from participation. No one seems to know and it is currently causing a lot of problems with regard to the integrity of a potential client for investments in these markets and especially in FX trading markers

again many thanks in advance for your usual accurate and helpful responses

There are a couple of arguments to be made:
a. US citizen
A US citizen is looked at in the international banks through a US magnifying glass. In the different agencies they have this clause: "good moral conduct", they usually pull the credit reports first, than the related investigative report (the same most landlords in California want to look at). Anything on the reports is looked at on a scale, in the US banks have a kind of automatic program. SO for example with the offshore funds they would automatic issue a suspicious activity report if offshore funds are involved even if there is nothing suspicious, just to cover their back.
b. criminal record
some banks, especially the DB and Dresdner go to great length to disassociate with anyone who has a criminal record, the saying is: bad apples infect good apples. From a certain level onwards, if the decicion maker in the bank does not want to be seen with you having coffee in the public, they do not want you as a client which has potential exposure risks. they have ways around this but they have to be willing.
c. offshore
Offshore should stay offshore or use a non-profit NGO or similar to transact in some specialized environments. Offshore funds are specifically earmarked, even if they are perfectly legal the US Patriot act has resulted in tracers which are put on transaction codes and some banks do not want them in their internal system at all. they need special handling through street name accounts and correspondent handling in order not to come up as a problem.

My guess is that some people in DB do assess your client as a possible pain in the behind, decided that they do not want him to have the benefits of the transaction and shot him down.
The problem is that once shot down by a big player like DB the word gets around and some banks and their risk assessment staff do not want to get involved in such situations.

If your client has the money and he has a willing transaction partner there are always ways to get things done, so never mind DB with their dream of world domination in their board they have gotten away from reality anyway and tend to believe they are gods bankers. Its not a bad bank but they are infected in the US handling techniques and that means you hardly find some banker who will decide on anything a bit different.