one of the checks was in Pounds and my bank (Chase) told me that it will cost $45 to convert
Jeez, that’s ridiculous. I get upset when my bank (I’m in the UK) charges me £8 (around $14) to convert a dollar check into pounds. I’d change banks instantly if they tried to charge me the equivalent of $45.
And two weeks to get it cleared. My UK bank clear US dollar and foreign currency checks in two days, which, strangely, is faster than they clear UK pound cheques. Go figure.