we are currently waiting to come to switzerland although that could be completly ruined by a loan that we currently have with hsbc...as we need to transfer it to a swiss bank because hsbc is a private bank in both germany and switzerland........we are at our wits end as we really need to get this sorted....has anyone as a non resident managed to not only open an account but also transfer a loan to another bank without actually walking through the door? we have to transfer this before we leave this country ( middle east )
your advice would be very welcomed on this subject xx

You couldn't transfer it to their offshore branch in Jersey or something similar? Have you thought of approaching the branches of Swiss banks in your part of the world to discuss it? UBS has a branch in Doha and Credit Suisse are in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. It might be worth a try.

Getting a loan in Switzerland before you have even set foot here is going to be challenging for lack of a better word...
Would you be able to come here beforehand? Would you be able to make a deposit large enough to give a bank warm fuzzies? Will you be transferring with your existing employer? What will your trial period be if any? All questions that a bank would want to know. Although, to be honest, I am not sure that it will make much difference... but I would be thrilled if someone contradicted me.

If you're a client of HSBC in the Middle East, they could open an offshore account with HSBC in Jersey for you. I would think most HSBC offshore account holders have never set foot on Jersey. Whether they would transfer a loan is a question I don't have the answer to but I don't understand either why you would have to transfer the loan before you moved and why it would stop you moving.

You have a dificult problem that only HSBC can help you with really, especiallyas they advertise about being the friendly bank to help people relocate globally. Not true in my experience!

However if you are with BBME/HSBC, they may help you transfer the loan to their Jersey operations if there are some assets securing the loan. If your company are relocating you, you could also try for a limited company guarantee. that is what I did when I left Dubai in the early 90's, which gave me time to sort things out once I had moved.

Good luck.

Why do you have to transfer the loan?

I had a loan with HSBC (in the UK) before I moved here. I kept my UK HSBC bank account and transfer money back into it to cover the repayment. HSBC know I've moved to Switzerland and don't have a problem with it. In fact they recently increased the limit on my credit card. Likewise any other creditors probably won't care that you have emigrated, so long as you keep up the payments.

Your chances of getting a loan in Switzerland are slim to anorexic. Everything I have seen points to you needing a B-permit at least one year old before they will even touch you. This is true even if you work for a bank which provides consumer loans.

I didn't have a problem getting a credit card along with my bank account though. Why they see a difference between a loan and a credit card (other than interest rates), I have no idea.

hi guys

thanks for your feedback, we unfortunatly have to clear it before we leave the country as alot of people have come to the middle east and just simply left the country leaving thousands in their wake! so here now and dubai is policy that you have to be completly clear before you have your exit visa!

thanks for all the advice iam now looking into the ubs branch here ( never knew it was here)

and very interested in the offshore idea which iam sure we will be able to get with my husbands now salary which iam sure is ok 200,000ch ?

he is signing the work pemit this week so i think this is what we need for opening an account anyways

please can you explain more on the company guarantee john?

When I left Dubai I didn't have enough spare cash to clear my loans and credit cards. Because the company was relocating me they gave HSBC a company guarantee which basically said if I defaulted after 6 months they would cover the loan. At the same time of course, if I had defaulted on the loan they would have deducted from my pay and bonuses or indeed my notice period pay!

Anyway that gave me enough time to sort everything out in both my new location and my home country.

Wow! Based on Serenity's last reply I did some Googling. Sounds like Dubai banks can and do slap a travel ban on expats trying to leave unless they pay off their off personal loans before departure. Expat forums are buzzing with people worried about this. I really hope HSBC can sort out this mess for you Serenity.

i would like to say a huge thankyou as they still do this company guarantee john and i think this is what we will be doing!

yesterday i had this sick feeling in my stomach that the probs that we had might acutally hinder my husbands premotion but thankfully thanks to all of you it looks like we are sorted!

iam so so happy!

You are most welcome! Have a safe trip.