Banking rules

Sir, Your City Diarist talks about “absurd rules imposed by the Financial Services Authority to combat money laundering” (September 7).

My elderly parents have had a joint bank account with Royal Bank of Scotland for as many years as I can remember. After 68 years of marriage my 96-year-old father is now in a nursing home and my 92-year-old mother is in a residential care home.

As their attorney I asked the bank to convert their joint account into two single accounts — a seemingly impossible task, because I cannot prove my mother’s identity and address to their satisfaction.

My only hope today is to locate my mother’s birth certificate and National Health Service card.

I should add that, to the best of my knowledge, neither of my parents is, or has ever been, a money launderer, a terrorist or a drug dealer.