"The issue is remittances, the money minorities send abroad to relatives. In theory, we like remittances and there are plenty of them. The trade is worth $530bn worldwide, says the World Bank, and $2bn here. They help communities grow, or maybe just stay afloat ... And all was well until a few weeks ago when Barclays, which provided banking facilities, decided it didn't want to do it any more because it fears the smaller firms might be used for money laundering and funding terrorism ... Barclays planned to pull the plug on 10 July, giving some of the 250 firms affected just a few weeks' notice. After a fuss was made and people such as Bethnal Green MP Rushanara Ali began asking questions, the bank set the deadline back a month. But it's just a stay of execution." (Quoted from article)