Receiving conflicting reports about US banks closing US accounts of citizens resident abroad (Germany). Any info?

[nudestathart]

I'm self-employed, US citizen, resident in Germany for c. 15 years. In addition to my German bank account, I still have my old Chase account, and it is linked to a family member's Chase account as well.

He is being told that if the accounts are not unlinked promptly, his account will be closed. The reasons given have ranged from "German citizens can no longer hold US bank accounts" (shouldn't be relevant, I'm not a German citizen) to "avoiding potential money laundering" (hahaha, if I had enough money for that to be a concern it wouldn't be in a Chase account). However, I'm not being told anything about my own account, which is presumably the one at issue here, and whether it will be closed.

Any info? Appreciate the help!

 

[sharonleesanders]

@nudestathart Yes, if they discover you are permanently resident outside the US they may try to close some accounts which are intended for US residents. If I try to follow the reasoning, some types of transactions may be restricted by geography, and the account types aimed at residents don't apply such restrictions. (for example a US-resident brokerage account would permit you to buy shares of a US-domiciled ETF like "VT", which technically is not permitted by EU law as you are resident in the EU). For this reason they may wish to limit their exposure by closing folks like us out of products/account-types aimed at US residents.

I've found most individual customer-support staff I encounter at US banks don't understand the nuances you're calling out. The concept of a US citizen not residing in the US already causes some circuits to short ;-)

So you may need to walk someone through the situation in a phone call, if it comes to that. Do try to keep your Chase account, as opening a US-based account while residing abroad is quite difficult, though the State Department Federal Credit Union apparently offers checking/savings/etc. to us.

 

[annonymous1448]

@nudestathart Pretty common for non-US residents to have their bank accounts closed. I assume it's a reaction of "we don't know how to handle this, so lets just close it to be safe".

You're not going to win. You're not go to convince them it's ok.

If I were you I'd open a different account in the US, maybe with Schwab (which I hear is ok with US citizens living outside the US). Otherwise you'll likely be cut off.

 

[genenco]

@annonymous1448 Schwab’s brokerage products are expat-friendly, but their banking products are not. They will also close your account if you’re a non-resident and you tell them that

 

[kisseslivingforjesus]

@nudestathart US banks and expats don’t mix well sometimes lol

 

[chadc84]

@nudestathart I have the same set up with a family member with the same bank and I’m also just a US citizen residing in Germany and I have not been contacted about this. I’ve only been here 4 years though.