$1000 note status

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I have often heard here and in other places that financial institutions are *required by law* to return any $1000 notes to the central bank for destruction.  But I cannot find any reference for this.  All I can find is this BoC press release, which says that banks are requested to return them. 

Can anyone point me towards the definitive answer? 

The only thing I can say is that I spoke to 5 different branch managers for the TD Canada Trust and I was told they cannot hand them out and that they must be returned. The problem being that once the transaction took place as a deposit it is recorded and  withdrawing it will flag the transaction.
Unless you could actually do a private transaction in the bank before the tellers recieve it that would be your only hope.
As for other banks I dont know

The $1000 notes will be withdrawn over time with the help of financial institutions, which have been asked to return the notes to the Bank of Canada as they are deposited or exchanged by the public. blah blah blah

I'm confused. 

A request from the BoC was sent to all Canadian banks requesting that upon the deposit or redemption of any $1000 notes by customers, all such notes be returned to the BoC instead of being recirculated. Same request applied to any stocks of $1000 notes being held by the banks. It was effectively an active withdrawal of these notes from circulation as soon as they came into any Canadian financial institution.

A request from the BoC was sent to all Canadian banks requesting that upon the deposit or redemption of any $1000 notes...

Does this also apply to US or foreign banks?

The Bank of Canada may have issued requests to foreign banks, but if the request was made, it would only be honoured as a courtesy to the Bank of Canada. Foreign financial institutions are under no obligation to honour BoC requests.

(That said, I'm sure there is some kind of loophole where the BoC could assert ownership of the notes themselves and could pursue legal avenues to reclaim the notes, but something like that would probably amount to a rather exceptional set of circumstances).

I understand that financial institutions have been requested to turn them in.  But I keep hearing, especially from banks, that "we are required by law to return them to the Bank of Canada for destruction."  If there is such a law, then there should be an Act of Parliament in effect for this.  But I can find no such thing. 

All I can think of is that financial institutions might have signed legal agreements with the BoC saying that they will return $1,000 notes if they receive them.  If that is the case, the banks would not be breaking any laws by recirculating $1,000 notes; rather they would be in violation their contractual obligations with the BoC which might make them subject to a civil suit.  But I have not found any reference of such an agreement either.

Can anybody really confirm this?

That is funny,

I asked my branch today and they are unable to "Record" $1000 notes in the system. They enter them as 10 $100 notes as there are no provisions for $1000 and $2 notes.  They Process $2 notes as coin.

I have had branches give me $1000 notes whenever they come in. So it just depends on the branch and if you are a really good customer. 

Thanks, X-Savior. 

Last call for any definitive, verifiable proof that financial institutions are really required to turn in $1,000 notes.  Since nobody can locate anything I now believe there is no requirement, and all that is in effect is a "would you could you please" type request.

If a bank won't give me a $1,000 note because that is their internal policy, well I can't really argue because they have me under a barrel.  But if they claim that that policy is because of a "legal requirement" I am going to start to argue!

I would like to share a portion of an email that I received and according to the way it is worded I still think that it is the banks that do this by choice and not because of any law that requires them to do it


This is in response to your email inquiry asking if a Financial Institutions can put back into circulation a  $1000 bank note that was received from a previous deposit.
 
Financial institutions are no longer able to obtain the $1000 note from the Bank of Canada. This withdrawal process is carried out entirely through the financial institutions.
This decision was recommended by the Department of Finance in consultation with the Bank of Canada, the federal Solicitor General, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and other Canadian law enforcement agencies.
 
The $1000 notes that are still in circulation can be redeemed (that is, exchanged or deposited) at Canadian financial institutions. These notes remain legal tender and retain their full face value, as do all Bank of Canada notes that are no longer issued, such as one- and two-dollar notes.
 
I hope this information is helpful and thank you for your interest in Canadian currency.
 
Regards,
 
Carol Ann Levett
Client Service Representative
Bank Note Communication Team
Bank of Canada
1-888-513-8212

Well, I think that confirms it.  There's no law about it.  The status of the $1,000 note appears to be identical with the status of the 2001 $10 note.  It seems that financial institutions are simply requested to return them, but they can still quite legally give them out.

Thanks, friedsquid!  I think this can now be put to rest.

I don't have problems getting $1000 dollar bills, whenever my local branch gets them in, they ask if I want them, got several last fall a bunch turned up, but most weren't in the greatest shape, mostly 1954s. I returned most of them.

A frind of mine was a bank manager at a small CIBC branch in a small town north of Sudbury. It's an old railway town, lots of old money still floating around. When I asked him if he's watch for old bills for me one evening, he told me about a transaction he had completed a couple of weeks ago. It was a safe find, 39 x $1000. I asked him if QE II was on them. He said it was a mixture of a young king and an old king (wasn't sure if there were french ones). Most were in poor shape, but I guess there were a couple in very nice condition. I asked him if the bills were still there, thinking I'm getting a loan and I'll see you Monday morning. He indicated he would have given them to me if they were there, but they had been returned to B o C. How fast would a 1935 $1000 move on this board in any condition?

 

That would be a sick feeling.... I wouldn't be able to eat for a week ( and that's saying something!! )

It was a safe find, 39 x $1000. I asked him if QE II was on them. He said it was a mixture of a young king and an old king (wasn't sure if there were french ones).

Here's another factoid that might make your stomach turn over a little more...

Both the 1935 and 1937 $1000 had an identical portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier on it.  If the bank manager said that there were two different portraits on the bills, then some of them might have been 1911 Dominion $1000 notes.   Cha-ching!