HOLOCAUST RESTITUTION FEE WAIVER PROGRAM
On December 1, 2006, the Office of Consumer Affairs in partnership with the Massachusetts Division of Banks, Massachusetts Bankers Association, The American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston, Inc., and The Greater Boston Child Survivor Group, announced the launch of the Holocaust Restitution Payment Fee Waiver Program. The voluntary initiative entails Massachusetts banks agreeing to waive wire transfer fees for Holocaust survivors associated with their restitution payments from overseas. At present, nearly 3,000 Holocaust survivors reside in cities and towns across Massachusetts. Many of these survivors receive Holocaust reparations or restitution payments from Germany or other European countries as result of their status as victims of Nazi persecution. The average age of these recipients is 80 years with many living on low to moderate incomes. The survivors are often charged international wire transfer fees when the funds are transferred to their bank accounts. The average fee is $15 per wire and payments are wired anywhere from once a month to once a year.
Massachusetts Holocaust survivors who are interested to learn more about the program are encouraged to go to their local bank or contact The American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston, Inc. and The Greater Boston Child Survivor Group representative Rosian Zerner at 617-244-1029 or Rosian@Zerner.com. A list of banks that are participating in this program is detailed below.
Massachusetts Bankers Association
Participating Banks in the Holocaust Restitution Payment Fee Waiver Program
Bank Name | Contact |
Athol Savings Bank | Cheryl D’Ambra |
Bank of Canton | Anthony Caruso |
Bank of Easton | Thomas Caron |
BankFive | Susan Martineau |
Bay State Savings Bank | Jo-Ann Chenail |
Beverly Cooperative Bank | Bill Howard |
Beverly National Bank | Jack Good |
Bristol County Savings Bank | Patrick Murray |
Brookline Bank | Cheryl Gorman |
Cambridge Savings Bank | Mary Card |
Cambridge Trust Company | Tom Johnson |
Canton Co-operative Bank | Paula Carney |
Cape Cod Co-operative Bank | Joel Crowell |
Century Bank | Barry R. Sloane |
Chelsea-Provident Co-operative Bank | Janice Sikenski |
Clinton Savings Bank | Michael Tenaglia |
Commerce Bank & Trust Bank | JoAnn Morency |
Commonwealth Co-operative Bank | Laura M. Jewer |
Danversbank | Judy Vail |
Dedham Cooperative Bank | Thomas Grudinskas |
Dedham Inst for Savings Bank | Mary Luniewicz |
Eastern Bank | Terence McGinnis |
Family Federal Savings Bank | John LaBarre |
Framingham Co-operative Bank | Steven Sousa |
Hoosac Bank | Donna Choquette |
Hudson Savings Bank | Neil Dolan |
Lee Bank | Jessie Schoonmaker |
Marblehead Savings Bank | Suzanne Pinho |
Mechanics Co-operative Bank | Joseph Baptista, Jr. |
Middlesex Savings Bank | Dana Neshe |
Milford Federal Savings & Loan | Robert Bodio |
Millbury Savings Bank | Bill Walsh |
Monadnock Community Bank | William Pierce, Jr. |
Mutual Federal Savings Bank | Christine Grundy |
National Grand Bank of Marblehead | Richard G. Hardin |
Needham Cooperative Bank | William Day |
Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank | Richard Eaton |
North Easton Savings Bank | Robert J. Berg |
Northmark Bank | Jane Walsh |
Pentucket Bank | Maureen Kanavos |
Peoples Federal Savings Bank | Thomas Leetch |
Pittsfield Cooperative Bank | Conrad Bernier |
Randolph Savings Bank | David R. Flint |
Reading Co-operative Bank | Pat Leone |
Rockland Trust Company | Margaret McCarthy |
Savers Bank | Paul Jalbert |
South Coastal Bank | Susan Lincoln |
Southbridge Savings Bank | Phil Pettinelli |
Sovereign Bank | Patricia Rose |
StonehamBank | Patricia Lauzon |
Strata Bank | Amy Costello |
TDBanknorth | Louise Trottier |
United Bank | Deborah Gebo |
Wainwright Bank & Trust Company | Nancy Mahoney |
Webster Five Cents Savings Bank | Joseph Radovanic |
Westfield Bank | Alice Babcock |
Williamstown Savings Bank | Donna Choquette |
Winchester Co-operative Bank | Joanne Reese |
Winchester Savings Bank | William Danahy |
Wrentham Co-operative Bank | Jeffrey Liber |