New hold on US Dollar cash deposits

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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We’ve banked with BHD for decades, and have dollar accounts with them.

They’ve just announced that as of October 23rd, any US dollars deposited in cash cannot be withdrawn for 15 business days. Yes, in CASH. Not checks.

I understand that some other banks have already instituted this rule, and if you need the money before 15 days have elapsed you can withdraw it by paying a penalty.

I’m thinking the dollar shortage must be worse than we knew.
742E3D6C-4211-4DFC-A4C9-409E811D83D3.jpeg
 
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CristoRey

Welcome To Wonderland
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Banks want to hold long as they can to collect interest. Early penalty will be of equal or greater value.
 

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
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I manage my money and the interest and dividends that are due on a daily basis. I mangage my loans to ppl the same way. I manage rents due to me the same way. There will NEVER, ever be a day where a bank will control the use of MY money. NEVER. I guess you understand my position on this subject. LOL
 
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Jan 9, 2004
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We’ve banked with BHD for decades, and have dollar accounts with them.

They’ve just announced that as of October 23rd, any US dollars deposited in cash cannot be withdrawn for 15 business days. Yes, in CASH. Not checks.

I understand that some other banks have already instituted this rule, and if you need the money before 15 days have elapsed you can withdraw it by paying a penalty.

I’m thinking the dollar shortage must be worse than we knew. View attachment 3409

Rumor has it the cover story has to do with money laundering.............but this puts the DR banking system and government in a very unfavorable light and amounts to a confiscation of private property for however short a time...........and that is a very slippery slope.

Mexico has done that and more several times. Financially bankrupt, they forced all dollar accounts held in the country to be liquidated into pesos. When that was done, they devalued those pesos.

The DR just took a 3.8 billion dollar loan to fund 2020 obligations. Perhaps that is not enough to keep the ship of state upright............or perhaps they are doing it to fight money laundering.

Either way, caveat emptor.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

CristoRey

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Apr 1, 2014
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What kind of interest will you get in 15 days? I have an interest bearing checking account and I get 8 cents a month. It's close but it won't quite buy me that yacht I want.
Total value of deposits being held (pick a day) x current rate... every penny counts. Perhaps i have it wrong? Thoughts?
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
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15 days "de transito" to where?

It takes 10 working days after depositing a check in BHD for the cash to be available. I hope they're not going to tack 15 more days on top of that(?).
 

XTraveller

Well-known member
Aug 21, 2010
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We’ve banked with BHD for decades, and have dollar accounts with them.

They’ve just announced that as of October 23rd, any US dollars deposited in cash cannot be withdrawn for 15 business days. Yes, in CASH. Not checks.

I understand that some other banks have already instituted this rule, and if you need the money before 15 days have elapsed you can withdraw it by paying a penalty.

I’m thinking the dollar shortage must be worse than we knew. View attachment 3409
Bank Popular has always had a similar thing but .....30 days with minimum balance of $500 USD. You can withdraw before but then you get the FEE'S. BANCO POPULAR FEES........You know they have to pay all the people that work there to make things complicated for the clients. So that the FEES for no service.
 

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
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The bank does not want to be a revolving door washing machine for US cash.
Nope. IMHO quite the opposite of your take on the subject. They are NOT the aggrieved party Gus. THEY want to be the beneficiary of the strength of the dollar and the weakness of the peso. Sainthood for all banks, ESPECIALLY those with a weak currency, went out of style a very long time ago.
 

RDKNIGHT

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Mar 13, 2017
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banresva has not change it policy yet . when i transfer money in I get it the same day...
 

etolw

Banned
Oct 6, 2018
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My money transfers from Europe takes two days to arrive, they go trough an intermediary bank causing delay.

If I had to wait an unreasonable time before I could use money transfered, I would change to using my foreign debit card and ATM‘s.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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I do not where the cash goes.... but try walking into a bank and asking for $5k US... they won't have
I have seen their float as low as $1k...

The cash gets pulled to somewhere, not sure where
buit it's not in your local branch... even that $5-10k you deposited last week
 
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JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
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I wonder if it has anything to do with the declarations of assets of politicians that were just released. A lot of them have large amounts of dollars in local banks.
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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I manage my money and the interest and dividends that are due on a daily basis. I mangage my loans to ppl the same way. I manage rents due to me the same way. There will NEVER, ever be a day where a bank will control the use of MY money. NEVER. I guess you understand my position on this subject. LOL
Watching interest on a daily basis? Seems like a bit of trouble, but to each his own.

I have never used BHD and use DR banks minimally so the times they float the money is of little concern.
Fill the pipeline and live with it works for me.
 
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chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
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One more reason to get tourism back to 100% if this is indeed due to dollar shortage.
I think most drug laundering of any amount is not deposited directly in a bank but washed through money changers and other business or items like fancy SUVs or property purchased in cash.
Does the government monitor escrow deposits ?
 
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The article as translated by the OP indicates only cash deposits are affected by this new rule. Not wire transfers, not money transfers from abroad, not checks deposited (which always had various hold times).............just cash.

Again the cover story, and it may be legitimate, is likely to prevent large sums entering the banking system and then wired out........a classic, but old and unsophisticated, money laundering scheme.

Or, given the recent financial difficulties engulfing the DR, it is a means to hold that cash and play the float for fifteen days. It is no secret the DR has experienced a hit to its economy and it has primarily affected the tourist component that supplies a large portion of hard currency to the government. That currency is then used to pay off debt obligations denominated in dollars. So when a shortage of those dollars occurs, the government is forced to source dollars in other ways.

That sourcing could include borrowings via bonds and the like, or putting restrictions on hard currency whether attempting to send it out of the country or lowering the reserve requirement of deposits that banks must have on hand.

It is no secret dollars have been scarce in the DR for some time now. It is also no secret, but may be a surprise, that the dollars deposited in Dominican banks are not physically there anymore.......................just a portion as required by the monetary law relating to reserves needed to be kept on hand.

This new regulation only serves to preserve a bit more liquidity for the government to finance/pay its obligations with a bit more insecurity for depositors..............or is it as they say........merely a tool to control money laundering.................and the banking system is still sound?.

Those are the questions individual depositors need to ask and answer for themselves.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
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Money laundering tracing...

That’s all there is to it.
Also major changes in swift transactions ongoing.
Lots of cash was found circumventing the nets on the banking system worldwide.
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Money laundering tracing...

That’s all there is to it.
Also major changes in swift transactions ongoing.
Lots of cash was found circumventing the nets on the banking system worldwide.
I guess blockchain will eventually take care of this issue for those who want to avoid such things.