TD Bank Says it is Looking to Reverse Closure of Some Iranian-Canadians’ Accounts

TD Bank is looking to smooth over relations with the Iranian-Canadian community after it closed dozens of Iranian-Canadians’ bank accounts. (Matthew G. Bisanz)

After a maelstrom of criticism for closing the bank accounts of dozens of Canadians of Iranian descent, in some cases with little to no explanation, TD Bank announced this week that it is looking to address the complaints and handle its enforcement of financial sanctions against Iran more delicately.

In an interview on Monday, a spokesman for TD Bank, Mohammed Nakhooda, said the bank realizes that the closure of the accounts had been “distressing and disruptive” and that it was looking to improve the way it communicates with its customers about the issue.

The Canadian financial institution said it would try to reach out to those affected and explain the cause of their account closure, and put in place a process whereby it would obtain more information from some affected clients to clarify their personal status and activities, and depending on the information obtained, re-open their accounts.

Letters sent up until recently, seen by media, from TD to customers to inform them of their account closing contained only a statement that the sanctions prohibit the bank from “providing any financial services to, or for the benefit of Iran, or any one in Iran” in the way of an explanation.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *