Where to get offshore company and bank account now?

[Spinat]

After the changes in Cyprus and the banks there for account opening for offshore corps. i.e. Belize, Seychelles, St. Kitts and other jurisdictions I was wondering where to bank?

I know EMI's very well, so this is not a question. I also know Cyprus companies can open Cyprus bank accounts, that's also not a question.

But was Cyprus really the last stop for offshore banking without personal visit?

Euro Pacific Bank is trash and out of question I know them, don't work well for 95% of all businesses with daily trading needs.

Any suggestions to banks, jurisdictions or what works would be much appreciated.

 

[Martin Everson]

There is nowhere in the EU that offshore companies will be accepted sooner rather than later. Hence EU bank is out of question unless you are happy for your account to be closed or frozen without notice.

Yes Euro Pacific Bank is a joker bank and indeed complete trash but it's the only option some people have for offshore companies...lol.

You can try Paxum Bank in Dominica, Caye Bank in Belize or Bank Asia in BVI. Bank Asia needs company to have connection to Asia. For just an operational account nothing else comes to mind outside a few other Mauritius Banks possibly.

 

[MrTony]

Armenian, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan‎ banks

 

[Suzy Emerald]

Add Georgia here. But in the end, how reliable are all these banks? Well, how reliable is any bank these days... I have the feeling you can loose your money overnight with an EU bank (except 100K guarantee) in the same way as with a bank in the former USSR or somewhere in the tropics.

 

[Martin Everson]

Yes Georgia is good option but you will need to travel there to open an account.

Many people who will have over 100k in an EU bank indeed risk loosing the excess overnight. Hence I have told people on here to put there money into short term AAA bonds even if they yield a negative rate. It is far better to loose 0.5% then 100%. Custody accounts at any EU bank does not form part of the banks assets in bankruptcy or bail-in events so is completely protected.

 

[Spinat]

You can try Paxum Bank in Dominica, Caye Bank in Belize or Bank Asia in BVI.

these banks open up remote accounts? do they require skype call?

Armenian, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan‎ banks

same question, do they open up accounts remote?

 

[MrTony]

As I know, mostly Georgia stopped acceptance of offshores. They have very strong AML policy now.

If you don't want to risk with banana republic banks or ex-USSR banks you need to establish CY company, pay 12,5% tax and get EU-protected bank accounts)))

these banks open up remote accounts? do they require skype call?

Caye - remote, not need skype-call.

same question, do they open up accounts remote?

only your personal visit or your representative by power of attorney

 

[Spinat]

only your personal visit or your representative by power of attorney

interesting and do you know a agent that can be trusted and is reliable? if so please name it

 

[Suzy Emerald]

Caye is remote, yes... But they request you to send your original papers after pre-approval. For Caye you dont need an agent, process is pretty straight forward.

 

[Martin Everson]

these banks open up remote accounts? do they require skype call?

same question, do they open up accounts remote?

Those three banks allow remote opening. No skype call required to my knowledge.

 

[Spinat]

great thanks, this was very useful. I will have a look at all three of them by Monday and working my way through their approval process!

awesome, have a nice weekend guys.

 

[Martin Everson]

Why would they do such thing?
A legit bank would never close/freeze an account of a legit business with a legit owner/director.
(I am not talking about shady drug dealers with an account opened with fake documents)

If an EU bank would freeze my account, I can just go there and kick them in the a*s personally, and sue the s**t out of them.

Tell that to people at Rietumu Bank. We can debate that it was a BS bank but it is an EU bank and it happened....lol

Banks do this because of internal policy changes or external policy changes. They spare no respect for the customer when the actions take place.

 

[Martin Everson]

Then, that bank is a scam. :-/
Or the business/bank account was shady as hell.

Central bank decided no more offshore shell companies in its banks after U.S pressure and money laundering issues involving offshore companies. They did not care if Jesus Christ was sole Director and the Pope was sole shareholder. It made no difference to accounts being frozen and then closed.

 

[MrTony]

U.S. government decide so. Banks only want to survive.

 

[Martin Everson]

U.S. government decide so. Banks only want to survive.

Exactly, banks think survival first above all else. So if they need to throw you to the wolves or close your account abruptly they will. The U.S decides globally banking policy indirectly sadly. Everyone else just has to get in line and kiss the ring.

 

[MrTony]

Yes, they have right to terminate your account and transfer your money where you want it.
But they don't have rights to freeze the assets. They can be sued in Lithuania.

You can set up a non-offshore company and nobody disturbing you.

great thanks, this was very useful. I will have a look at all three of them by Monday and working my way through their approval process!

awesome, have a nice weekend guys.

If you will try Belize (Caye Bank), you can also try ATLANTIC INTERNATIONAL BANK (the same conditions, fees, and requirements) and BELIZE BANK INTERNATIONAL (if they begin accept IBC companies again).

 

[Takeshi]

It can be expanded, it's not only about the Banks and Jurisdictions accepting to do business. We tend to forget three crucial criterias from the banks that are their Liquidity, Solvency and Derivatives exposure compared to their assets.

For example, think of the following figures from two banks:

Barclays Bank:

-Liquidity: 36.6%
-Solvency: <6%
-Derivatives: <32x

Liquidity looks great though their solvency and derivatives figures are scary.

HSBC HK:

-Liquidity: <4%
-Solvency: <10%
-Derivatives: <6x

Liquidity looks poor though their solvency and derivatives figures looks great however due to their investments into Asian markets, it explains why their liquidity is low and makes them more reliable than Barclays Banks.

I definitely think we have to do more due diligence and look at figures from the start as it can end up badly for anybody despite having a successful structure in any jurisdiction regardless of the partner we are working with.

 

[Spinat]

guys we are getting far far away from the initial topic. If you want to discuss Rietuma, Liquidity and other subjects then open your own thread. It sucks to have this thread filled with information I don't ask for just because you want to promote yourself.!! Thanks - Admin help

 

[StuartG]

Am I the only one who has had a reasonably good experience with Europacific Bank

 

[Suzy Emerald]

Depends on what you use EPB for. They work fine when you have a few transactions per month and have no rush receiving or sending wires. So far I have no real complaints. They want you fill out these forms when receiving wires, well, costs me a few minutes, no problem. Guess when youhave a great deal of customers and transactions, it may get annoying to wait for the wire to be credited and fill out the paperwork.