U.S. banks closing Mexicans' accounts
Efforts to combat money laundering hurting established businesses in Tijuana
By Sandra Dibble7:06 A.M.NOV. 9, 2014
TIJUANA — One of the oldest and largest businesses in Baja California, the Calimax supermarket chain got some unpleasant news last month: The company’s U.S. bank no longer wants its business.
This presents a problem for Calimax, where many customers pay in dollars and the products on the shelves often have been imported from the United States. The family-owned company is one of a growing number of Tijuana businesses that face the closure of their U.S. accounts as banks come under pressure to adopt stricter anti-money-laundering measures.
“They told us to come and pick up our money,” said Federico Díaz, chief financial officer for Calimax, which has 109 stores in Baja California and Sonora, with some 6,600 employees.
Word of these account cancellations has spread alarm in Tijuana’s business community. Dollars have long been a common currency here, used to pay for everything from rents to medical services to restaurant tabs. Rare is the business in Tijuana that refuses dollars.
“Where is all this cash supposed to go? Are we supposed to put it inside a shoe box under the bed?” asked José Manuel Ripa, vice president of finance for the Tijuana Chamber of Commerce, or CANACO. “We’re seeing established companies that are having problems. This isn’t good for either side of the border.”
sandra.dibble@utsandiego.com
(619) 293-1716
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/...ana-san-diego/
