Depending on your bank you may be able to finesse the issue as I did, in the reverse. We bank with HSBC in London. They gave me an ABA code and a SWIFT code to use for their New York clearing office; this code has to be accompanied by the codes for our London account (SWIFT code, sort code, account number, name of recipient). The transfer then becomes a domestic US transfer, cheaper for me. They charge little or nothing for the transatlantic move from their New York clearing office to my London branch.

Occasionally transfers are refused (typically with no refund of fees) because of an anomaly in the codes. The way around that is to present a fax from the destination bank, on their letterhead, giving the proper information. It's then impossible for the foreign bank to say it's wrong.

Another solution I've used in the past is to get hold of the country desk officer (in this case the person responsible for US business) at the bank's main office and explain the problem. He or she will normally sort it out very fast. This happened to me years ago when a branch manager of Citibank refused to open a letter of credit in favour of a Korean supplier.