Oxfam, which did not name the bank, said it was one of the very few financial institutions in the United States still wiring funds to money transfer companies and dealers in Somalia, where more than 250,000 people are on the brink of starvation and in urgent need of aid.
Oxfam and the American Refugee Committee said Somalis in the United States send some 100 million dollars a year back home. The remittances are a lifeline to thousands of Somalis.
'In the midst of the current famine, where more than 250,000 Somalis are on the brink of starvation, US-based Somali Diaspora face being left without any means to help their families survive through the current crisis,' Oxfam said.
It urged the US government, banks and money transfer firms to find a solution.
'This is the worst time for this service to stop,' said Shannon Scribner, Oxfam America's humanitarian policy manager. 'Any gaps with remittance flows in the middle of the famine could be disastrous.'