Elderly homes residents find bank accounts closed after due diligence exercises

Several elderly bank account holders, particularly those of Bank of Valletta, have had their life-line banking facilities abruptly shut down after failing to attend due diligence meetings with bank officials.

A number of individuals, including residents of homes for the elderly who have been secluded indoors for years, have been informed that their banking facilities were being suspended or even shut down after they failed to answer letters and phone calls from bank officials to set up meetings to “check their accounts”.

Family members of vulnerable residents in their 90s complained to The Shift that their relatives, some with dementia, have suddenly found that they cannot receive their monthly pensions or even spend small amounts from their own accounts because their banking facilities have been either suspended or completely shut down.

“Although it is good that, after the transgressions we have seen, the banks are finally taking due diligence and money laundering seriously, it is unbelievable that they are targeting the small fries and the vulnerable just to tick the regulatory due diligence requirement boxes,” a man whose 95-year-old father had his bank account closed down told The Shift.

“My father has not been out of his old people’s home for years. How is he expected to go to the bank and give them details of how much funds he has and where they came from?” he questioned.

Banks are seen to be pulling their socks up after Malta was grey-listed by the Financial Action Task Force over the lax controls and surveillance of the financial system on the part of the authorities including the FIAU and the Malta Financial Services Authority.

Another son of a home for the elderly resident, who is over 60 years of age himself, complained that his elderly mother had not even read the letter she received asking her to attend a meeting with her ‘banking monitor’.

“Still her funds were frozen and she is panicking that she can’t even withdraw €10. This is not fair, especially when considering that these people have held accounts at the same bank for decades and only use it for their pensions. Are the banks doing this so that they reduce their costs from non-profitable accounts?” he asked.

Contacted by The Shift, a Bank of Valletta spokesperson confirmed that such exercises are ongoing but refuted claims that they are being done sporadically and with utter disregard for the vulnerability of certain clients.

Confirming that “all account holders are subject to due diligence reviews”, the spokesperson said that this “may be due to account activity which is not in line with the customer’s profile in view that customer behaviour changes over time, or because of expired  or outdated documentation.”

Asked whether the bank could be more sensitive and discerning when it comes to such exercises, the bank said that “the process is not random and is driven by a number of factors which include the risk profile, account activity and nature of documentation held”.

The Shift is informed that other banks are adopting similar tactics, although to a lesser extent.

All of Malta’s major banks have been fined by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit for lax oversight in which hundreds of millions of euros were allegedly laundered through the Maltese banking system over the years.

Banks are pulling their socks up after Malta was grey-listed by the Financial Action Task Force over the lax controls and surveillance of the financial system on the part of the authorities including the FIAU and the Malta Financial Services Authority.