I’ve always been curious about banking in the Bahamas, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands and how wealthy people tend to flock to these countries with their money, just to set up their secret bank accounts.
Well I recently discovered why these places are so popular with the wealthy, and I have to tell you, If I were wealthy like that, I would be tempted to make a little trip to the Bahamas and check out their banking guidelines in person.
The government there is steadfast in it’s ability to maintain confidentiality and will up hold the secrecy laws they have in place. No one can get access to this information.
Neither will they give out your financial and tax information to other countries, unless of course they receive a court order from the Supreme Court, and then it has to be for criminal charges only!
Another reason the wealthy flock here is because the parent companies of the local banks must guarantee the liabilities, which makes them financially sound, and a good bet for all that wealth.
Who are the parent companies? Well the Royal Bank of Canada and Citicorp just to name a few.
But it gets better! There is absolutely no income tax in the Bahamas, and this makes it ideal for ex-patriots to live there.
With no income taxes to pay, and governmental health care, even I could live there on just my retirement pension.
But alas, I’m not a ex-patriot, nor do I plan on becoming one. But still, I can see the financial attraction of banking in the Bahamas, and again, if I were rich, I’d be tempted.
Swiss Bankers Defend Offshore Trust Anonymity
Swiss Bankers are making a good thing today out of International banking and stock buying for anonymous clients.
But the Swiss aren’t too happy about some of the consequences, such as conflicts with the American government and the watchdogs over American securities markets because Swiss law veils all their depositors in secrecy. This is driving many to consider a domestic asset protection trust in Wyoming.
Bankers here are particularly bitter about three charges well rooted in the American public’s mind:
1. That the banks often don’t know who is making use of them -possibly even the Communists.
2. That the banks vote proxies on American stocks they hold for anonymous clients engaged in raiding U.S. corporations.
3. That the banks offer Americans a chance to evade U.S. income taxes.
Top executives of the three largest Swiss banks have said to interviews that all Swiss banks refuse any deposits until they know who the client is and have checked on him thoroughly. This is true they say, even when the account is carried on the bank’s book a number rather than a name (to give the depositor further secrecy from the banks clerical staff).
But American officials point out that a known depositor could b acting as a cover-up for someone else. The Swiss reply that such person could act similarly for another in dealing with brokerage firms in the United States.
The Swiss law forbidding bank to name depositors was passed Nov. 8, 1934. The Swiss say it was because in the years of bank shakiness a bank failure might ruin a depositor if his name were revealed.
Because of charges of corporate raiding through proxy voting, two years ago the Swiss Bankers Assn. secretly directed all its members: If a depositor asks you to vote his proxies against corporate management, tell him he must avow the shares openly and vote them in his own name.
American officials agree that all respectable Swiss bankers are following this directive. They say only a few shady banks may be doing otherwise now.
Top Swiss bank officials insist that they never vote corporate proxies held by their agencies in the United States.
Offshore Trust – Banking in the Bahamas
I’ve always been curious about banking in the Bahamas, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands and how wealthy people tend to flock to these countries with their money, just to set up their secret bank accounts.
Well I recently discovered why these places are so popular with the wealthy, and I have to tell you, If I were wealthy like that, I would be tempted to make a little trip to the Bahamas and check out their banking guidelines in person.
The government there is steadfast in it’s ability to maintain confidentiality and will up hold the secrecy laws they have in place. No one can get access to this information.
Neither will they give out your financial and tax information to other countries, unless of course they receive a court order from the Supreme Court, and then it has to be for criminal charges only!
Another reason the wealthy flock here is because the parent companies of the local banks must guarantee the liabilities, which makes them financially sound, and a good bet for all that wealth.
Who are the parent companies? Well the Royal Bank of Canada and Citicorp just to name a few.
But it gets better! There is absolutely no income tax in the Bahamas, and this makes it ideal for ex-patriots to live there.
With no income taxes to pay, and governmental health care, even I could live there on just my retirement pension.
But alas, I’m not a ex-patriot, nor do I plan on becoming one. But still, I can see the financial attraction of banking in the Bahamas, and again, if I were rich, I’d be tempted.
Swiss Bankers Defend Offshore Trust Anonymity
Swiss Bankers are making a good thing today out of International banking and stock buying for anonymous clients.
But the Swiss aren’t too happy about some of the consequences, such as conflicts with the American government and the watchdogs over American securities markets because Swiss law veils all their depositors in secrecy. This is driving many to consider a domestic asset protection trust in Wyoming.
Bankers here are particularly bitter about three charges well rooted in the American public’s mind:
1. That the banks often don’t know who is making use of them -possibly even the Communists.
2. That the banks vote proxies on American stocks they hold for anonymous clients engaged in raiding U.S. corporations.
3. That the banks offer Americans a chance to evade U.S. income taxes.
Top executives of the three largest Swiss banks have said to interviews that all Swiss banks refuse any deposits until they know who the client is and have checked on him thoroughly. This is true they say, even when the account is carried on the bank’s book a number rather than a name (to give the depositor further secrecy from the banks clerical staff).
But American officials point out that a known depositor could b acting as a cover-up for someone else. The Swiss reply that such person could act similarly for another in dealing with brokerage firms in the United States.
The Swiss law forbidding bank to name depositors was passed Nov. 8, 1934. The Swiss say it was because in the years of bank shakiness a bank failure might ruin a depositor if his name were revealed.
Because of charges of corporate raiding through proxy voting, two years ago the Swiss Bankers Assn. secretly directed all its members: If a depositor asks you to vote his proxies against corporate management, tell him he must avow the shares openly and vote them in his own name.
American officials agree that all respectable Swiss bankers are following this directive. They say only a few shady banks may be doing otherwise now.
Top Swiss bank officials insist that they never vote corporate proxies held by their agencies in the United States.