THE BEST OFFSHORE BANKS

THE BEST OFFSHORE BANKS

INTRODUCTION Having an offshore account is a fundamental step in diversifying yourself internationally. It is an excellent way to diversify against sovereign risk, currency risk, and more. It s especially important in today s environment where governments will find any excuse - from terrorism to money laundering to the bogeyman - to impose de facto capital controls. Having a portion of your assets out of your home country makes it more difficult, if not impossible, for said government to freeze or confiscate your assets. There are a number of important factors to consider when opening your account. 1

These include: The jurisdiction s openness to foreigners (and, in particular, United States citizens or residents) Taxation of interest income Range of services including currency options Stability of the jurisdiction Deposit insurance Let s take deposit insurance. In places like the United States or the European Union, deposit insurance is almost an afterthought. Unless, of course, you re a small European country needing a bail-out and thought to be holding money for the Russian mob - then you re screwed. However, each jurisdiction has its own bank insurance policy that you should examine before opening an account. Places like Singapore take an attitude that deposit insurance is somewhat of a moral hazard and have much lower insurance maximums than other developed countries. Singapore, for one, also does not insure deposits in foreign currencies, which again matches their goal of protecting smaller, domestic depositors who need the money, not foreigners looking to diversify their assets. While most of the developed world does insure bank deposits, a few do not. Andorra, for example, has a deposit insurance scheme which is hard to understand and it is unclear how the fund would actually repay depositors of a failed bank. Of course, you should again evaluate the stability and history of any place where you put your money to make sure you won t get Cyprus-ed in the future. Many jurisdictions worldwide are open to accepting foreign customers, although some have many hoops you must jump through. We ll identify those in this report. An unfortunate part of the global war on terror is the OECD s heightened Know Your Customer requirements, which make opening a foreign account difficult. Many banks, forced to comply with more and more draconian regulations, require you to visit them to open your account. However, there are plenty of banks that open accounts remotely. Along those lines, an important consideration to make is which type of bank you feel most comfortable with. 2

You may prefer a more liquid, local bank over a huge multi-national. It should also be considered that it may be easier for your a government agency, court, or plaintiff s lawyer in your home country to access funds in a bank which maintains a presence there. It will be easier to get them to hand over your funds if their bank does business in your country and could be sanctioned for not doing as they re told. Another important factor is taxation. While many international finance centers tax based on a territorial system where income earned outside the jurisdiction isn t subject to tax, income earned in their banks certainly meets the local source test. Some of these jurisdictions do tax interest, others do not. Those that do tax interest may require a local tax ID number to be obtained. Obviously, this will slow the process down. Finally, you should consider the range of services each bank offers. If you are moving money to another jurisdiction to avoid sovereign risk, you may well want to hold your foreign deposits in another currency. Obviously, each country has its own currency which will be the default currency that most people there hold their assets in. You may or may not be comfortable holding your deposit in that currency, however, and may want to choose a bank that offers an array of currencies to choose from. Unlike in the United States, for instance, where non-us dollar deposits are rare and not typically advertised, international banking hubs routinely advertise well over a dozen currencies to place your deposit in. You don t have to open an account in Switzerland, for example, to have an account denominated in Swiss francs. When opening an account in a foreign currency, you should consider the stability of the currency, its exchange rate history, and other factors that may come in the future. Much of the world is in a race to the bottom to devalue their currencies, which you should take into account. For example, is the currency backed by resources in the country? Is it pegged to another currency? The Hong Kong dollar, for instance, is pegged to a tight range of the US dollar. However, some commentators believe that the Hong Kong authorities will be forced to re-peg the value against the dollar, causing an immediate change in value, or peg it to the Chinese yuan. You should do your homework to understand any currency you choose to hold your assets in. 3

At the same time, foreign currencies whose countries haven t set interest rates at zero may also offer higher interest rates. Many emerging countries offer high - even sky high - interest rates out of need for foreign capital and their ability to loan money at uber-usurious rates, places like Australia simply haven t joined the global race to the bottom because they haven t need to. But again, always do your homework. The media and government want you to believe international banking is illegal. As I write this, it s not. Millions of expats from around the world live outside their home country and maintain bank accounts in their places of residence. Nothing crazy about that. You, too, can achieve global diversification and take advantage of a better banking environment elsewhere in the world. For many, it s amazing to think that some countries have never experienced a bank failure in their history, while others haven t had one for decades. If you re in the United States, you ve seen hundreds of banks fail just during the global financial crisis. Opening your mind, when done with accompanying due diligence, can offer a new array of benefits to you. 4

BANK FROM HOME Many people want to open an offshore account, but don t have a large enough deposit to justify traveling or do not have the time to travel. That s where this guide can help. There are dozens of banks around the world that will allow you to open a bank account without visiting the bank in person. It can all be done remotely. There are two ways to do this. Option 1: Banking with a Multinational While not available in all jurisdictions, one easy way to get around a personal visit to a bank is to use a multi-national bank with a presence in your home country. It is often possible to open an account over the internet or at the bank s branch in your country, then have that account migrated to the multinational s bank in another country. The best example of this is HSBC. HSBC has 7,200 offices in 85 countries on virtually every continent. You d be hard pressed to find a civilized nation without an HSBC presence of some sort. In 2012, Global Finance ranked HSBC s UK holding company the 19th safest bank in the world, higher than any other bank with its international presence. HSBC allows its customers to open accounts in approximately fifty-eight countries worldwide once establishing their home country account. The process is rather straightforward. First, you must open a HSBC Premier account at home or in any country that allows nonresident foreigners to open accounts. This can be your own country, the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, or even the UK. This Premier account does require a minimum balance which varies by your country of residence; in the United States, the minimum is $100,000. In Hong Kong, it s a bit higher. If you re a US resident opening a US Premier account, you can do it online. Just make sure you choose the Premier account rather than a general account or Advance account when signing up. Once your application is completed and processed you ll be assigned an account manager, somewhat like a lower level version of a private bank. 9

That account manager will assist you in setting up an account in another country or countries, and you ll be assigned an account representative in those countries as well. It should be noted that if you re willing to travel but not far, Americans can open HSBC accounts in Canada, too. If you live near Toronto or Vancouver it might be worth a cheap day trip in order to keep your $100,000 base deposit in another country. Just know that you must keep the minimum deposit in your base country. Once established, you ll have online access to your accounts and be able to move money back and forth between accounts in each country. An interesting part of the HSBC program is that as long as the minimum balance in your home country is met, you aren t required to meet minimum requirements in other countries. For example, Hong Kong s minimum requirements are higher, but as a US customer, your US$100,000 will keep you in good standing. So if you decide to go and live in Malaysia, for example, you can use your US Premier account to get you Premier status in Malaysia even if you only maintain a small checking account there. The benefits of Premier status aren t that great and they don t serve you champagne like UOB s private bank in Singapore, but you will get slightly better service. As with any international bank account, you should be careful about fees. Most banks will quote you an exchange rate at the time of transfer which will include any built-in spread they charge for the conversion. Canada, for example, tends to charge very high conversion fees despite the high amount of trade from US to Canadian dollars. Hong Kong banks charge very, very low conversion fees. Keep in mind that currencies that are less frequently traded - even if they are quite stable - may have a wider spread attached. While I do believe that maintaining an international bank account is all about sovereign risk, part of which is the risk of holding only one currency, you should be able to transfer your home currency (ie: US dollars) to your international account without a fee if you intend to hold that same currency there. Unlike in the US, many international accounts allow you to hold a wide array of currencies, probably including the one you bank in now. Keep in mind that while HSBC, for example, is a large multinational bank holding company, each bank is registered in its own country. In the United States, it is incorporated as HSBC Bank USA, NA. In Hong Kong, where HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) started in 1865, the bank is incorporated as a licensed bank domestically, as well as having three licensed international banks. 10

Option 2: Local Banks that Allow Remote Opening Some countries make it nearly impossible to open bank accounts even if you go there in person. Bosnia, for instance, requires that all foreigners have their passports and financial histories translated to Bosnian and notarized. Yikes. On the other end of the spectrum are countries where not only can anyone open a bank account, but anyone can open one without being there in person. Belize and many Caribbean countries allow this, as they can conduct KYC procedures via mail. Many of those banks are listed in this guide. Some accept Americans while others don t. A bank that allows for remote opening is often located in a country that does not offer western-style comforts like deposit insurance, and is typically a traditional offshore country on an island somewhere. However, there are several western banks, even in the United States, that allow for remote opening. A shrinking number of multi-national banks allow you to call the bank in the country you wish to bank in (ie: the United States), open the account by speaking with them via email or phone, and then showing up in person at a branch in another country to undergo Know Your Customer checks. 11

ANDORRA ANDORRA IS ONE OF EUROPE S BEST KEPT SECRETS, WITH AN OLD SCHOOL BANKING BUSINESS AND SOLID INSTITUTIONS. Andorra is one of Europe s microstates, nestled between the Catalan region of Spain and southern France. The country has no airports, so the easiest way to get in is to fly to Barcelona and drive up the windy mountain roads, or take a three-hour bus. As a tiny country with few resources other than snow for skiing, Andorra has an age-old tradition of serving as a banking hub for wealthy Europeans. Banks here are highly conservative. There are only six of them, all local. Only one bank has ever failed, and that was 50 years ago. When that happened, the other banks got together to guarantee deposits in order to keep their country s competitive edge. That said, Andorra does not have an explicit deposit insurance program. 12

Opening an account in Andorra is simple, but you do need to show up in person at least once. Banking here is not so transactional as it is relationship-based. However, unlike at the banks in Switzerland, you won t need a seven-figure balance. And because the banks are local, they don t have branches all over the world, meaning they can adhere to Andorra laws and be less concerned with bowing to some EU or US dictate. The downside of this is the banks earn their money on fees; expect to pay an annual fee no matter how much you deposit. Andorra is a good place to bank: If you want a strong, conservative banking jurisdiction in Europe You are storing wealth rather than spending it You are willing to fly to Andorra and open an account in person Andbanc Minimum Deposit: Varies Remote Opening: No http://www.andbank.com/en/ The Best Banks in Andorra Accepts US Persons: Rarely Accepts Offshore Companies: Yes Banca Privada d Andorra Minimum Deposit: 100,000 Remote Opening: Rarely https://www.bpa.ad/eng/ Crèdit Andorrà Minimum Deposit: 100,000 Remote Opening: Rarely http://www.creditandorragroup.com/en Morabanc Minimum Deposit: 50,000 Remote Opening: No http://www.morabanc.ad Accepts US Persons: Yes Accepts Offshore Companies: Yes Accepts US Persons: Rarely Accepts Offshore Companies: Yes Accepts US Persons: No Accepts Offshore Companies: Rarely 13