Chile Forum

HSBC is gone from Chile:

http://noticias.123.cl/noticias/20111020_8120e5ff658005b4c10d0b9bd03dbb2b.htm

In end of september they announced that they were selling their 4 branches.

During the week-end they closed them and they were converted into Itau.

I just went to get some money out and found that the transition was finished.

2500$ fee

Another foreign company that failed to understand Chilean culture. Typically it seems it is the American companies that stick their foot in their rear, by believing they understand Chile simply because they managed to open branches in other countries in Latin America. I don't blame this fully on Chile. HSBC had a rather untenable global expansion strategy that sounded good on paper, but hard to execute. At least they had the good sense to make it a short excursion, rather than hanging on until there was not much to hang on to.

hmm - so they're gone already according to the posts here -- i have an hsbc current account in chile and still have access to their online banking as of today, and am able to make transfers to other chilean bank customers accounts, etc. maybe the online transfer to itau is around the corner. i'll keep you posted.

We had an account with BankBoston until Itaú took it over. It was fairly painless. They are now a bigger bank and not quite as good as BB. Halfway through last year they changed our account number and forgot to tell us. We still know staff from the old days so we have just stayed put. We figure it is all degrees of bad with banks everywhere. Our worst nightmare was with NatWest in England and were actually paid compensation for the trouble they caused. Banks hate to do that.

Thx for describing your experience -- what I'm really wondering, is given my total back-and-forth-visitor status (having leaped none of the usual hurtles needed to open an account), if Itau will even allow me to even keep an account open. For some reason HSBC just laid out the welcome mat for me, and I very much suspect that whenever it transfers over, that will be the end of that. On the other hand, the "new account smell" has worn off, and if I'm honest, I'll be fine without it (so long as Schwab keep offering their great product). J.