ABN AMRO Cuts Ties With Dozens of Banks

[seemslikeadream]

By Guy Faulconbridge and Catherine Belton
Staff Writers The New York branch of ABN AMRO Holding has cut correspondent banking relationships with dozens of banks in Russia after agreeing with U.S. regulators that it had "deficiencies" in complying with anti-money laundering rules.

Russian bankers said Wednesday that almost all of the branch's accounts with Russia had been shut down since the summer.

The account closure could deal another blow to the already battered reputation of the domestic banking system.

The move could also make it more difficult and expensive for smaller Russian banks to open correspondent accounts in the United States, analysts said, though larger, more well-established institutions are still likely to be welcomed with open arms.

....

"The U.S. regulators are under a lot of pressure because they were asleep over the Riggs scandal, so now they are going back and looking closely at banks, including the big ones."

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http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/09/30/003.html