Deceased Account

Categories: Banking, Accounting

One quiet reason why Swiss Banks became so financially powerful during the post-World War II era was their simultaneous cooperation with the Third Reich for stashing gold plundered by central banks of countries conquered by Hitler, and the image presented to many wealthy Jews fleeing the SS of a safe haven for their assets while trying to escape.

As history has shown, many of them ultimately did not escape and died in concentration camps. Some were survived by children who had no knowledge of the account codes or, even if they did, could not show documented evidence of lineage or parental death certificates. As a result, those assets have been held by the Swiss Banks and used as collateral for many other profitable transactions going directly to the banks’ bottom lines.

A deceased account is one where the owner of the account has died, and the bank has received notice and thus freezes the account until the proper documentation regarding the estate, probate, and assessment of creditor claims and rightful authorized estate executors has been presented.

The Swiss Banks have been forced to make billions in settlements in recent years, as more information and publicity has come forward. Proof that karma is a b-word that catches up with everyone.

Find other enlightening terms in Shmoop Finance Genius Bar(f)