Faith Restored with Citizens Bank | Citizens Bank | Discussion forum

20090206 15:03 Message from Bank...Appreciate the time to resolve and restore confidence...thanks CitizensBank.
Letter from Bank as follows.
Dear Mr. XXXXXXXXXXXX
First and foremost we would like to thank you for your valuable feedback. While we never want to hear we have failed to provide the level of service our membership deserves, it is important for us to know where we have fallen short so that we can learn and grow from our mistakes.
This issue you brought forward regarding the US rates is a valid one. While we do want to ensure we remain competitive, especially within the US markets, we chosse to take a more conservative approach with our US pricing model during this very turbulent time within the FX markets. As a smaller institution we set our rates in the morning and keep it at that level. Only in exceptional market circumstances do we move rates during the day. The bigger banks will often move rates throughout the day impacting you in one of two ways.
We have reassessed the level of volatility in the marketplace and adjusted our rates to reflect a more closer alignment to the big banks. Please note that Citizens Bank currently only manage rates on the ATM withdrawals for USD, EUR and GBP. For all other currencies, like the Bahamas you mention, we are at the mercy of the ATM service provider and the rate they use. We do not aim to make a return on these transactions, merely to cover our costs. However I will continue to look at why the rates is not as advantageous to our members as it should be. We offer Global Chequing Accounts because we've consistently heard from our members that they want a no-fee chequing account. We've decided to go one step further and not only offer no-fee day-to-day chequing but also not charge ATM withdrawal fees worldwide. It was never our intention to recoup the loss fee income through exchange rates.
Again, thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We take your feedback seriously. Should you require any further clarification regarding the above or any other matter, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Citizens Bank of Canada
Tel: 1-888-708-7800