AboutJim Meadows Expertise I can respond to most questions concerning consumer and business relationships with US financial institutions. My expertise touches on deposit and loan issues and particularly on strategies to navigate through bank policies personell and practices. I have a degree in Economics, attended law school, Graduate Shool of Banking, and Commercial Lending and Compliance Schools.
Experience I have twenty years experience as a bank CEO. Most of those years were spent operating a bank focused primarly on serving consumer/retail needs. I helped pioneer deposit and loan products for low/moderate income individuals. I currently serve on multiple bank boards and am Chairman of a Commercial Bank in Atlanta.
Question I recently had a a very bad experience with customer service (both on the phone and at two
branch office) at my current bank. I no longer want to use them for my banking needs
however am forced to keep my account open because my paycheck is directly deposited into
my checking account with them. It will take me some time to change the direct deposit bank
with my employer because I am switching departments (thus being paid from a different
source) at work and this would only complicate the already complex switch. After my recent
negative experiences i feel that the employees at the branch by my house have some degree
of angst toward me. i find it difficult to do even the most routine transactions lately (I had to
speak to regional manager prior to withdrawing $1500 cash from my account).
I don't want to keep my money in this bank and want to withdraw my paycheck in cash after
it is direct deposited. My local branch is a "business satellite branch" and does not have a lot
of cash on hand. They said they can give me at most $2500 a day if I give them a day's
notice. I pass by the bank on my way to work so it's not hard for me to stop by on 4 or 5 consecutive days to pick up my entire paycheck in cash. I am afraid however, that this will be
looked upon as structuring and would not put it past the employees at this branch to submit
an SAR.
Is there any way I can insure that this will not happen? Is there any way I can make the bank
provide some sort of proof that I intended to withdraw the full amount of my paycheck but
was unable to do so because they did not have enough cash on hand, and not because I was
trying to avoid a CTR filing?
Answer Alex, I wouldn't worry about the potential SAR. What you are contemplating is not a violation of any sort. No, you can't make the bank provide the proof you mention. SAR's, by the way are filed away on a data base and not investigated. Why not purchase a cashiers check from your bank and deposit it into your new bank account? This would lessen your exposure to to the bank. Jim
