Compliance requirements gone mad

THE EDITOR: So many of us are totally stressed out over today’s compliance requirements that have gone way out of control. In the direction we are heading, soon every doubles man will require you the buyer to produce two forms of ID, a utility bill and a permission letter from your cardiologist before serving you.

Recently, in attempting to get one of the major banking institutions to add me as a joint account holder on a small US dollar account in my wife’s name, it required more compliance documentation than should be necessary to enter the vault at the Central Bank. And this from a banking institution where I was previously employed and have been a customer for over 45 years.

Now, why is there no legislation whereby once you produce compliance information to any single entity, those documents then qualify you to legally conduct business with any other department of said financial institution – or any other institution for that matter: insurance company, customs broker, neighbourhood baker, candlestick maker, etc.

To further illustrate the sheer absurdity of the out-of-control apparatus of compliance requirements gone crazy, our small export-oriented manufacturing business recently requested our bankers to remove one of our deceased directors from the approved company list of official signatories.

Well, we soon received a shopping list of requirements on the matter from the bank so detailed that it took a considerable effort by our financial controller to satisfy the bulk of the requirements. However, there was one requirement he was unable to provide and that was a form sent by the bank requiring a signature by our deceased director.

GREGORY WIGHT

Maraval