@AndySoCal wrote:
The deposit amounts stated in the article apply to all customers with those amounts. This should happen at any bank with a deposit > 5,000. I have had holds placed an deposits one was from a closed account at another bank and I had been with the bank several years. It is not you, HSBC is following stated rules and regulations this would apply to any customer.
OP wasn't posting about the typical "Holds" that probably all of us have experienced with various lenders over the years when having a new account, for larger deposits, or for certain types of checks. He was talking about his accounts being completely blocked and him being locked out of access for other purposes. That's a whole other situation and something I've never experienced in over 40 years of personal banking.
I love the part in the October 14 letter that states "Your HSBC Cash Rewards Mastercard was blocked ONLY TWICE on August 19 and August 24." So only twice in less than a week is not a big deal to HSBC apparently. 
I understand that HSBC has a due diligence to follow banking regulations to ensure transactions are legitimate. For whatever reason, they seem overly sensitive to OP's transaction history, perhaps due to nature of his family business employment. But their behavior seems extreme and I agree with @Meanmchine that I would have just shut down banking with them a long time ago. It's just business, but I need a bank that I can depend upon. There are too many other banks that would be easier to work with, or at least provide better customer service through such a verification. For OP's situation, I wonder if a smaller regional bank or local credit union might be a superior choice to a large multi-national bank like HSBC.
@Remedios wrote:You think regional banks and small CUs are in general easier to deal with?
That accomplished what subprime coffee couldn't. It woke me up.
Since I've been at work for roughly 5 hours, that's a good thing
Glad I was able to be of service.
Of course, we're still talking about financial institutions here, so it's all relative. And it's dependent on the lender in question. That said, smaller lenders tend to be more personable and treat their customers a little less like just a number, IMO. That little credit union in Alabama, AOD FCU, has been praised on My Fico for great customer service and I've experienced the same. A locally-based FI is more likely to have someone with some clout nearby that you can talk to in person if there are issues you can't resolve over the phone or email. But generalizations are just that. Chase is also a huge bank and I've been generally pleased with them. There's always exceptions on both ends of the spectrum.
@Aim_High wrote:
@Remedios wrote:You think regional banks and small CUs are in general easier to deal with?
That accomplished what subprime coffee couldn't. It woke me up.
Since I've been at work for roughly 5 hours, that's a good thing
Glad I was able to be of service.
Of course, we're still talking about financial institutions here, so it's all relative. And it's dependent on the lender in question. That said, smaller lenders tend to be more personable and treat their customers a little less like just a number, IMO. That little credit union in Alabama, AOD FCU, has been praised on My Fico for great customer service and I've experienced the same. But generalizations are just that. Chase is also a huge bank and I've been generally pleased with them. There's always exceptions on both ends of the spectrum.
Right, so it's not the lender's size that determines the level of difficulty.
It's between how stringently lenders adhere to regulations, and often it's related to the nature of business and source of income.
If a lender gets slapped with regulatory fines, they tend to become hyper-vigilant, then relax over time, get slapped again, tighten the rules again.
It's the lending ouroboros, but most individuals are able to avoid it or we would be reading about banking apocalypse daily.
That smiley looks just like me when spring comes, scotch broom does it's thing, and my left eye decides it doesn't wanna.
@Remedios wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:
@Remedios wrote:You think regional banks and small CUs are in general easier to deal with?
That accomplished what subprime coffee couldn't. It woke me up.
Since I've been at work for roughly 5 hours, that's a good thing
Glad I was able to be of service.
Of course, we're still talking about financial institutions here, so it's all relative. And it's dependent on the lender in question. That said, smaller lenders tend to be more personable and treat their customers a little less like just a number, IMO. That little credit union in Alabama, AOD FCU, has been praised on My Fico for great customer service and I've experienced the same. But generalizations are just that. Chase is also a huge bank and I've been generally pleased with them. There's always exceptions on both ends of the spectrum.
Right, so it's not the lender's size that determines the level of difficulty.
It's between how stringently lenders adhere to regulations, and often it's related to the nature of business and source of income.
If a lender gets slapped with regulatory fines, they tend to become hyper-vigilant, then relax over time, get slapped again, tighten the rules again.
It's the lending ouroboros, but most individuals are able to avoid it or we would be reading about banking apocalypse daily.
That smiley looks just like me when spring comes, scotch broom does it's thing, and my left eye decides it doesn't wanna.
Right. (I'm writing this before Aim_High revises their post again) 😜
It all depends on that lender's audit results with the respective regulatory agency. Some lenders already have robust measures in place, but in this dynamic environment where crypto currencies exist, alternative 'payment' tools exist, patterns or methods that circumvent or exploit current controls, etc., even those robust measures need to be updated or revamped in a variety of cases.
@Remedios wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:
@Remedios wrote:You think regional banks and small CUs are in general easier to deal with?
That accomplished what subprime coffee couldn't. It woke me up.
Since I've been at work for roughly 5 hours, that's a good thing
Glad I was able to be of service.
Of course, we're still talking about financial institutions here, so it's all relative. And it's dependent on the lender in question. That said, smaller lenders tend to be more personable and treat their customers a little less like just a number, IMO. That little credit union in Alabama, AOD FCU, has been praised on My Fico for great customer service and I've experienced the same. But generalizations are just that. Chase is also a huge bank and I've been generally pleased with them. There's always exceptions on both ends of the spectrum.
Right, so it's not the lender's size that determines the level of difficulty.
It's between how stringently lenders adhere to regulations, and often it's related to the nature of business and source of income.
If a lender gets slapped with regulatory fines, they tend to become hyper-vigilant, then relax over time, get slapped again, tighten the rules again.
It's the lending ouroboros, but most individuals are able to avoid it or we would be reading about banking apocalypse daily.
That smiley looks just like me when spring comes, scotch broom does it's thing, and my left eye decides it doesn't wanna.
I had to look up scotch broom as we don't have that where I live! But we have other similar irritants. Good comparison with the smiley!
While size isn't a direct correlation in all cases, it seems to me that the larger the lender, the more likely one would experience these kinds of issues. Larger lenders are probably more likely to have been used for shady transactions by crooks because they are more widespread geographically and there is at least a perception that any individual transaction will be less questioned due to the shear volume of them. A small regional bank in Nebraska or a credit union in Kentucky is probably less suspicious. Suggesting a change to a smaller lender was just trying to offer some assistance in choosing one more favorable to him.
It's true that most individuals are able to avoid it, but it's unfortunate that people who may have completely legitimate actitivies get targeted by some lenders simply due to the nature of their income, spending, or lifestyles. It seems that OP hasn't been doing anything illegal but the bank's policies continue to disrupt his life.