© Clint McLeanAmerican expat Judith Furukawa, who lives in Dubai, has run into problems with U.S. bank accounts, as financial firms adapt to government policies meant to prevent money laundering and tax evasion.
Americans living abroad are being cut off by banks and brokerages as financial institutions seek to steer clear of a U.S. crackdown on money laundering and tax evasion.
The traditional challenges of expatriate life - adapting to a new culture, separation from family and friends - are being complicated by the tougher U.S. laws and more aggressive scrutiny of customer accounts.
It isn't what William Hart expected when he moved to Berlin from North Carolina nearly four years ago. This spring, the 24-year-old e-commerce analyst said he was rejected for an online brokerage account by Deutsche Bank, although he has a checking account there and worked as an intern at the company. In addition, a smaller local bank turned him down for an online checking account, and he says Wells Fargo, his U.S. bank, closed his brokerage account when it learned he lives in Germany.
The German banks gave U.S. regulatory changes as the reason, he said. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank and a spokesman for Wells Fargo declined to comment.
"I seem to exist in a no-man's-land," said Mr. Hart. "Can it really be that expats are facing such massive obstacles in basic financial matters?"
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