What banks participate in the medallion signature guarantee program in Madrid?

Answer 1

((Short Story: After talking to my financial institution, they said that an embassy seal would work as a substitute for the Medallian Signature seal. So, I wrote a concise description and purpose of the "substitute" Signature Sheet and went back to the USEmbassy-Madrid and got the Embassy embossed seal. ))

- - - Long Story: I can't give you an answer as to which banks provide the Medallion SigGuarantee, but I can tell you my experience here in MADRID, Spain. My local bank (Bankia/Caja Madrid) wouldn't sign it even though they have my signature on record and investment through them, because they wouldn't sign an English-language document that they didn't understand - which is fair and understandable. The Madrid, Spain branch office of Wells Fargo (USA) wouldn't sign it because it deals only with commercial clients - I'm an individual - and I wrote to Wells Fargo customer service, again USA, and they said they would only provide the Medallion within the USA. Wells Fargo has my signature on file, but that didn't seem to matter to them, here. The embassy doesn't provide Medallion service. I didn't even want to futz with CITIBank which is of course a SEC-registered institution. So, I called my financial institution, explained my situation and they responded, after checking with the higher-ups tha an Embassy Seal would be okay... An email said that local laws apply to Americans living abroad and to follow their laws... Well, that gets into the language problem, again. So, going back through the "Embassy route", I called up the notary there (she had already seen me once before when she said NO, and explained that the financial institution would accept the stamp. She said okay, but I would have to provide a document. So... I wrote up a formal, legalese-type document with the purpose of it being "in lieu of" the Medallion sig.guarantee (on page 5) and I also included the general nature of the entire document (inheritance) so as to specifically link my written document with the form from my financial institution...and of course, I gave my full name, SSN, address, and Passport Number. I did NOT say or imply that the Embassy GUARANTEES that my signature is mine, however, only that effectively that they have witnessed me sign a document whose signature is similar to the one in my passport (I forget the wording, but I can tell you if you contact me. That should work, and as the Embassy lady there said, "Now it's up to them to accept it, or reject it", which is true... I'll come back and let the readers of this history know how it all turns out. Should take about two months, about early June2013. (Pardon the length and cohesiveness of this story, please...) FET:4/4/13

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Update: August, 2013 - - Yes! It worked. Wells Fargo accepted the Embassy Seal (which cost around 50 Euros) and thus I avoided having to get the Medallion Signature Guarantee. I recommend to others in Madrid to do the same thing, although I can't answer whether this will solve YOUR particular situation. I can get the exact wording of the document they (both the Embassy and Wells Fargo) did accept. Contact me if you need to through this forum, or write to me at " plenum222@yahoo.com ". Bye!! FET:28/8/13

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Answer 2

It seems very difficult to get a Medallion Signature Guarantee in Portugal. What alternatives do U.S. citizens who live abroad have?