Leaders of the Florida International Bankers Association are to visit Argentina and Paraguay this month in an effort to convince banks to keep doing business in Miami, despite the costs and scrutiny of US anti-money laundering rules. They are worried that more Latin Americans might close private banking accounts in Miami, rather than deal with monitoring under the US Bank Secrecy Act and the USA Patriot Act. The bankers are also concerned that more Latin American banks might stop using Miami banks for correspondent banking to process wire transfers, checks and cash letters for foreign banks and clients in their countries. Regulators have cited violations of, or poor compliance with, those laws in 12 cease and desist orders they have issued against South Florida-based banks since 2004. In August, US bank regulators ordered Miami-based American Express Bank International, a subsidiary of American Express Group, to pay $65 million in fines for violations of anti-money laundering laws. The US Justice Department said AEBI had participated in suspicious activity such as "drug-related money laundering transactions, accomplished through 'Black Market Peso Exchange' wire transfers that were undertaken as part of an undercover law enforcement operation." FIBA will tell bankers in Argentina and Paraguay that US regulators are not asking banks in other countries to comply with the BSA and Patriot Act, said FIBA president David Schwartz. "It is the certain types of due diligence we must perform on transactions, and we will tell them what they can do to help us obtain information" said Mr Schwartz, senior vice presient and manager for international risk mitigation at Regions Bank. But regulatory scrutiny has led to a decline in some core business in Miami. Between 30 June 2006 and 30 June 2007, deposits fell from $15.2 billion to $14.7 billion at the 31 international agency bank offices in Miami-Dade County. Those banks and international divisions of US banks in Miami have lost an undetermined amount of Latin Americans' stocks and bonds they had under management. Local banking groups in Paraguay and Argentina are co-sponsoring the events. "This indicates that banks want to keep doing business here," said Patricia Roth, FIBA's executive director.