Millions of people living in Argentina are desperate and they need your help.

ARGENTINE PROTEST TO BANKS

Millions of people living in Argentina are desperate and they need your help. You do not have to send money. They are just asking you to be part of this chain letter. Please take a few minutes to read this mail. Just an e-mail or a letter from you may help them a great deal.
Argentina has been sliding into catastrophe for a long time and it is now on the verge of total collapse. At the end of 2001 the Argentine government then in power froze all savings and deposits in the country s banks. The measure got tougher as one president after another was engulfed by the unprecedented crisis.The freeze is now a deadly concentration camp dealing a final blow to an already dying economy. People have all their life-long savings trapped inside the banks.
They are not allowed to use their money and will have to wait years to get it back in a depreciated currency. Many of them are old, others are ill or unemployed. Some others have sold their houses and cannot buy a new one now. There is no end to the terrible stories that are
unfolding because of this most unfair situation.
At the same time, millions and millions of people of all ages, who used to survive on odd jobs, are slipping deeper and deeper into poverty and starvation by the minute because there is no money around.
The government measure to freeze all assets within the banks and eventually give back account holders absurdly depreciated amounts has already been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court but in most countries it would be labeled sheer theft. All the banks, without distinction by
country of origin, shielded themselves behind this government measure and did nothing to return the money to its rightful owners. The Government is trying to ban citizens from resorting to the Courts on this matter due to the country s economic emergency .

You are kindly asked to do two the following:
1.resend this message as soon as possible to as many people as you can, both in Argentina and abroad.
2.Also send letters (either by e-mail, regular post or in person) to international headquarters, home offices or local branches in your country of the foreign banks operating in Argentina.

A sample text of a letter complaining at the banks failure to honor their commitments to their clients is supplied in four languages.

The foreign banks operating in Argentina (by country of origin) are:

USA:
Citibank: http://www.citibank.com/e-business/homepage/

FleetBoston (BankBoston): http://www.fleet.com/contact/private_clients_form.asp?display=private

FRANCE:
Societé Générale http://www.offre.particuliers.societegenerale.fr/form/1,,1,00.html

BNP (Banque Paribas).
e-mail : webm...@bnpparibas-leasegroup.com
e-mail : patr...@bnpparibas.com
e-mail : hele...@bnpparibas.com
e-mail : vinc...@bnpparibas.com
Credit Lyonnais

CANADA:
Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) http://cgi.scotiabank.com/email.html

ENGLAND:
Lloyds Bank https://secure.lloydstsb.com/contacts/general/0,1007,general,00.html

HSBC (HSBC Bank Argentine) e-mail : i...@mlhsbc.com

SPAIN:
Santander SCH (Banco Río) https://www.bsch.es/formularios/es/contactenos/index.jsp

Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria BBVA (Banco Francés) https://w3.grupobbva.com/BBVA/tlwwviaemail.html

ITALY:
Banca Nazionale del Lavoro e-mail : cust...@bnlmail.com

Intesa BCI (Banco Sudameris) http://www.intesabci.it/contatti/index.htm

BRASIL:
Itau http://www.itau.com.br/frames/index1.htm

Banco do Brasil

PAYS-BAS:
ABN AMRO BANK http://www.abnamro.com/Com/contact/sec_contactpage.asp

Thanks a lot for your help.

Please do not break this chain. With no Justice to turn to, a flood of letters putting pressure on the banks from abroad may be the only way to end to this nightmare for millions of Argentines. Thanks a lot for your help.

Letter sample ENGLISH

Dear Sirs,
I am appalled at the news from Argentina, where the local representatives of your bank are shielding behind an unconstitutional government measure so as not to honor the commitments made to your clients there. I believe the banking system is based on trust and your behavior in
Argentina is destroying this trust. You are also squandering a reputation carved out all over the world over many years. In a globalized world, investors will most surely start to shudder at the thought of a similar fate in potentially unstable countries. That is all it takes to destroy the markets which financial institutions have tried to build. I will reconsider operating with your bank or to do so in the future if you do not review your policies in Argentina and honor the obligations to those who entrusted their money to your care.

Yours truly
Modello di lettera ITALY

Spettabili Signori,
Sono sconvolto dalle notizie provenienti dall Argentina dove i rappresentanti locali della vostra banca si nascondono dietro una misura di governo anti costituzionale per non rispettare gli
accordi pressi con i vostri clienti laggiù. Credo che il sistema bancario si basi sulla fiducia e il vostro comportamento in Argentina sta distruggendo questa fiducia. State allo stesso modo rovinando la vostra reputazione costruita fino adesso in tutto il mondo lungo gli anni. In un mondo globalizzato gli investitori cominceranno a temere un simile destino nei loro paesi, specialmente se potenzialmente instabili. E questo che ci vuole per distruggere i mercati che le istituzioni finanziarie hanno tentato di costruire. Considererò seriamente se continuare a operare con la vostra banca o se farlo in un futuro se voi non rivedrete le vostre strategie in Argentina e rispetterete i vostri obblighi verso quelli che vi hanno affidato i loro soldi.
Distinti saluti
Modèle de lettre de plainte FRANCE

Chers monsieurs,

Je suis choqué par les nouvelles qui arrivent de l Argentine, là où ceux qui répresentent votre banque se rétranchent derrière une mesure gouvernementale inconstitutionnel pour ne pas faire honneur àux engagements qu ils ont avec leurs clients. Le système bancaire est fondé sur la confiance, et votre conduite en Argentine est en train de détruire cette confiance. Vous dilapidez une réputation que vous avez construit au monde entier pendant beaucoup d ans.
Dans un monde globalisé, la possibilité de que la même chose arrive dans des pays potentielment instables fera craindre le pire aux investisseurs. Cela sera tout ce qu il faut pour détruire les marchés que beaucoup d institutions financières ont essayé d établir. J ai l intention de considerer sérieusement la possibilité de ne plus faire des opérations avec votre banque ou de ne pas les faire au futur si vous ne revoyez la politique que vous êtes en train de suivre en Argentine, et ne faites honneur aux engagements que vous avez avec les personnes qui ont confié votre institution avec ses économies.
Récevez mes salutations empressés.

Carta modelo Español

De mi consideración:

Escucho con asombro e indignación las noticias que llegan de la Argentina, donde los representantes locales de su banco se están escudando detrás de una medida de gobierno inconstitucional para no cumplir con los compromisos contraídos con sus clientes en ese país.
Sabemos que el sistema bancario se basa en la confianza y su comportamiento en Argentina está destruyendo esa confianza. También está dilapidando una reputación ganada en el mundo a través de los años. En un mundo globalizado, los inversores seguramente sentirán escalofríos al pensar que puede esperarlos un destino similar en países potencialmente inestables desde el punto de vista político. Esto es todo lo que se requiere para destruir a los mercados que las instituciones
financieras han tratado de construir. Reconsideraré seriamente seguir operando con su banco o hacerlo en un futuro si éste no revisa sus políticas en la Argentina y honra finalmente las obligaciones contraídas con aquellos que pusieron sus ahorros al cuidado de su banco.

Saludo a Ud. muy atte.,