Selecting
an Offshore Bank
For over 25 years OCRA Worldwide has been assisting clients to establish
and administer offshore
and international bank accounts and has developed useful expertise
in identifying and working with suitable offshore
banks and international banks. By the very nature of our business
we are exposed to a wide range of offshore
banks and international banking activities and we aim to learn
from these experiences.
Safety - will my money be safe with
an offshore bank?
The factors to consider include:
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The political and economic stability of the jurisdiction(s)
in which a bank is head-quartered, located and regulated.
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Reputation and substance - Standard & Poor's, Moody's
and Fitch rating reports are useful.
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Quality of regulation and access to deposit and investor
protection and insurance schemes.
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Parent company or similarly guarantees.
The business focus of the bank
In general the banks we work with seek to provide services to some
or all of these types of clients:
These services are provided from
both offshore banking and international locations
Private Banking Clients
Although private banking is not a simple business, there is a very
simple business model to keep in mind: "keeping rich people happy".
The definition of "private banking" varies from bank to bank but
is generally taken to mean investment management offered on a personalised
basis by a bank to an individual with disposable wealth of more
than $100,000 (although some banks do not offer private banking
services to clients with disposable wealth less than US$ 500,000
or US$ 1 million). Private banking is obviously not synonymous with
"offshore", but the costs of a personalised relationship begin to
be worthwhile at the $100,000 + level in the light of the superior
gains to be realised from offshore investment. Private bankers probably
prefer themselves to be approached and considered as objective financial
advisers rather than as an investment-provider, and consequently
private banks may not be the most effective choice for a reasonably
sophisticated investor who wants to play an active role in the management
of his investments.
Expatriates
Numerous offshore banks have sought to specialise in the provision
of banking services to expatriates as they perceive such business
as being relatively risk free, easy to "systemise" and profitable.
In essence, expatriate services encompass managing accounts for
people resident outside their home countries who may or may not
be employed. The focus of expatriate banking providers is online
banking, call-centres, relatively low levels of expertise and the
provision of "packaged" investment and protection products, such
as life insurance. Whilst the service offered should be professional
and "smooth", the relationship between an expatriate client and
his expatriate banking provider could not be characterised as personal
or in any way similar to the relationship between a client and a
top-flight private bank.
International Commercial Activities
Many of our clients utilise the companies we administer for commercial
purposes, such as trading. In such circumstances an offshore bank
that specialises in private banking or expatriates will be unsuitable.
Our commercial clients seek similar services to an onshore commercial
bank and will require access to some or all of the following services:
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Cash management.
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Foreign exchange and treasury services.
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International trade - letters of credit, documentary collections,
cross-border guarantees and global banking services at locations
around the world.
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Risk management: foreign exchange, interest rate, equity
and energy price risk management tools.
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Financing.
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Payment, receivables and payroll solutions.
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Selling solutions: point of sale, e-commerce and merchant
programmes.
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Speciality solutions, such as dealer, shareowner and fund
services.
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Expertise in matters such as energy, aviation, shipping or
real estate.
How we match Clients to Banks
We know that once we understand our clients and their business objectives
we will be able to assist our clients in identifying a suitable
bank to work with. Some of the aspects we consider are:
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The nationality, residence and domicile of our client. Banks
often have policies that deny, restrict or place conditions
upon certain classes of clients from having access to their
services, and these policies change from time-to-time.
-
The proposed activities of the client company or trust that
we administer.
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Opening deposits and minimum balance requirements - these
can be surprisingly large.
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Bank charges and interest rates.
-
The availability or otherwise of online bank statements and
reports.
We have considerable expertise
in assisting clients to establish relationships with reputable offshore
banking institutions as well as a wide range of international banks.
Which Banks do you work with
Over the last 25 years we've developed close working relationships
with many international banks. In selecting a bank, clients should
consider service, credit worthiness, reliability and competence.
All of these banks provide the high-quality service that our clients
expect:
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Alpha Bank - Cyprus
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Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Plc - Isle of Man
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Anglo Irish Bank Corporation - Austria
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Bank of Scotland - Jersey
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Bank of Scotland - Isle of Man
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Bank Leumi - London
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Barclays Bank Plc - British Virgin Islands
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Barclays Bank Plc - Cayman Islands
-
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Barclays Bank Plc - Mauritius
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Barclays Bank Plc - Seychelles
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Credit Agricole Indosuez - London
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Credit Suisse - Switzerland
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Dexia Banque International a Luxembourg SA - Luxembourg
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- Habib Bank - Isle of Man
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Lloyds TSB Bank Plc - Isle of Man
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Hellenic Bank - Cyprus
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HSBC - Isle of Man
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HSBC - Hong Kong
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HSBC - London
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HSBC - Malta
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Nordea Bank - Finland
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Nationwide International Limited
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Prudential-Bache International limited - Monaco
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RBSI - Isle of Man
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RZB Raiffesisen Zentralbank Osterrich AG - Austria
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Standard Bank - Jersey
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Standard Bank - Isle of Man
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Union Bank of Switzerland - Switzerland
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