Offshore Banking

[starshard0]

Thanks to the impending economic meltdown in this country I'm planning on moving a majority of my savings into an offshore bank account in case I end up leaving the country. Does anyone know anything about offshore banking?

[lucille]

Barclays has a number of options but I can't remember where the money actually resides or draws interest off of. They might be a good option since they also have some branches in the US.
I wanted to move some savings over to bear interest in euros, this was before the euro went up and the dollar croaked. I really regret not doing so now.
I also looked at Swiss Post and you can set up an account through them but this might draw more ire from the IRS since it might be perceived as a shelter. You also might want to check with the IRS about proper reporting of interest. If Swiss Post sends you a statement as long as you report the interest you might be ok, but I am not an accountant or tax expert.

[starshard0]

Thanks, I'll look into those options. I was thinking with going to HSBC, but I'd like to research all the options.

[lucille]

Originally Posted by starshard0

Thanks, I'll look into those options. I was thinking with going to HSBC, but I'd like to research all the options.

What option does HSBC have?
I would look close at the details on it. They run some predatory credit car programs and I was burned on an auto loan through them. There was a clause buried deep in the paperwork that prevented me from paying off the loan early. I had to either give them an additional $5000 or take a ding on my credit. I took a ding on my credit so now it shows I "settled" a car loan. So it looks like I defaulted. I wouldn't have gotten involved in the loan but I was sort of buying the car long distance because I was working far from home when the hubby's car died.

[starshard0]

It's mostly because I want to be able to apply online. I don't plan on doing any credit stuff, just savings.

[Mary Webber]

Every Grisham-type book I read has the bad guys stashing big bucks in accounts in the Caymans or the Bahamas. Does anyone know anything about these banking systems? I know LL Bean dropped Bank of America and now offers their VISA card through Barclays... does this bank offer full services here in the US?

[lucille]

I think Barclays has some branches in NYC. I went and looked at their website and I could not tell for sure if you can open a UK based account while here or not. I did find their international website that seems to have more multi-country flexibility. I remember reading something when I initially researched this that if a bank does business in the states that money has to stay here even if it is a Euros based account. I don't know how accurate that is but it does seem like there would be some ways around it.
http://www.barclays.com/international/

I still want to get some sort of international or foreign savings account, certain ones seem to have better rates and other countries like the UK have better consumer oriented banking laws.

[Bernadette]

There is a U.S. bank, EverBank, that enables you to open accounts delineated in several strong foreign currencies.

There's a well established membership group, The Sovereign Society whose members get Swiss, Austrian and maybe by now other bank accounts upon joining. Some of these require high initial deposits, but last I checked others don't.

The very most simple option for going offshore might be to open an account with any mainstream Canadian bank, assuming you're not Canadian. You can usually do this online and don't have any worries about scam artists.

If you really want to go the Cayman Islands/Bahamas sort of route, there are agents online who will help you do that. Do your research to make sure you choose a reliable one.

OR maybe best of all, take a vacation to a country you think you might want to live in and open an account while you're there on vacation.

[*bbj*]

Originally Posted by starshard0

Thanks to the impending economic meltdown in this country

I think that's overstating the issue.

[lucille]

Originally Posted by *bbj*

I think that's overstating the issue.

It depends on what aspects your looking at.
I lived through a time in the midwest that 250 people stood in line to apply for 12 fast food jobs at a Taco Johns. Social outings for myself and my friends was to go pick up govt. cheese. I was lucky enough to have a relative send me some moving money so I could get out to the west coast to finish college. There was nationally a derth of jobs, regionally there were none.
With the current banking and housing mess the US economy is rather unstable. I'm not predicting impending doom for noon tomorrow. I'm also not willing to blindly put all my eggs in one basket.