CBC.ca is reporting that Scotiabank will not be following the lead of the apparently powerless Royal Bank in denying US dollar bank accounts to dual citizens of Canada and a bunch of nations the US does not like. Canadian citizens who also hold passports for Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan and Cuba may not save US dollars at the Royal Bank, because of its compliance with a US Treasury directive to deny access to US currency to them there folks.
Scotiabank will probably have to dig into the record-profit pool all Canadian banks enjoy to pay some American fines as a result of their principled stand, but they have apparently decided that is a small price to pay for continuing to do business in a way consistent with another American directive, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1975, which states that when you apply for credit, a creditor may not discourage you from applying because of your sex, marital status, age, race, national origin, or because you receive public assistance income.