Hello, I don't know if this is the right place where asking this, but, as a foreign non resident, I am interested in opening a bank account in a Swiss bank (I'm not trying to evade taxes, I'm only trying to have a safe place where putting my money in case Italy goes into default).
I contacted various banks, and
- UBS told me they want a minimum deposit of 30k CHF for foreigners' bank accounts
- PostFinance doesn't require any minimum deposit, in theory I can even open a bank account remotely, without having to physically go to Switzerland (in this case I have to send them back, together with the signed contract, a legalized copy of my passport)
- Reffeisen wants minimum 1k CHF
- I still haven't contacted Credit Suisse
Can you confirm me the story of the 30k required by UBS? What are the disadvantages of opening with PostFinance? Is it true that payments (wire transfers) take longer with them to be processed?
Thanks a lot

I have nothing against Swiss banks.

However, I do suggest that you take a look at the banks in Liechtenstein.
There is VP Bank, LGT or Lichtenstein Landesbank. Of course there are about
a hundred more private banks, take your choice!

You may have to be present to open your account, to verify identification.
But think of it like a day trip to Liechtenstein (one of the smallest country in
the world). Not sure about the minimum, but worth the effort to call and ask.

Good luck, let us know what you find out... others may benefit from your
findings.

We wanted to have an account in Switzerland opened before arriving there. CS wanted a minimum 200K deposit....
Postfinance had no requirements. We went ahead with them and all went perfectly fine and the account is fully operational now.
No problems with slow transfers. Customer service very helpful and everything available in English.
Though I agree that Liechtenstein Landesbank is a good choice for more complex demands, for a plain functioning bank PostFinance does the job very well. And it's also a safe bank without money invested in funny schemes.

We're also looking at opening a bank account a few months before we move to Zurich. Are Credit Suisse any good/safe? Or UBS? Scott why do you recommend a Lichtenstein bank?

Number 1, Liechtenstein is a stone's throw away from my home.
But, don't let that influence your decision.

Number 2, Liechtenstein has better banking secrecy as Switzerland.
This to keep the IRS out of my hair.

Number 3, They are owned privately or by other banks.
Thus, more security.

Number 4, Positive identification is required.
Protecting you and the bank.

Number 5, As with many banks today, e-Banking is possible.
Ensuring secrecy & privacy.

If you do daily business with your money, then go for a Swiss bank.
If you live on the East side of Switzerland, then a FL-bank is a possibility.
If you want to stash some cash, FL is surely the place to do so! CH Taxes
cannot find it, you have to declare it.

I have seen limos pull up to the VP Bank, two bodyguards and a man with a
small suitcase walk into the bank. The man disappeared behind closing glass
doors. The bodyguards stayed in the foyer and gave me a dirty look
(looking badass and all ).

A good friend works behind these magic doors that close when cash above
500,000 Franks walks through them... She has handled lots of cash for the
bank. When I went to visit her, and walked through the magic doors, they
stayed wide open!

Sure. Ask the German BND, they have all the details

OK, one slipped through the cracks

Cool, which nationality was the man with the suitcase?

Anyway, after digging a bit in the VP Bank website, and contacting CS, I think that I'll go for PostFinance, because of its lower costs. VP Bank also wants a minimum deposit of 250k CHF.
I therefore asked CS if it's possible to open an account without being a resident, but I forgot to ask the minimum deposit required. I will contact them again, but if it's 200k, that's completely out of my possibilities.
Recently, I also came across this website - http://www.capitalconservator.com/ - But I don't need that level of secrecy and sophistication.

Dono, didn't ask... ugly and uglier (bodyguards) would have bitten my head off
for saying Grüezi.

Check again with VP. I am not a resident of Liechtenstein. American living in
Switzerland. If you explain that you will be moving to Switzerland soon...
there may be other dimensions to the minimums there. You'd still have to
show up with your passport and cash. That is the only way they let me
open an account!

I use Post Finance and Raiffeisen for all my Swiss banking. Had UBS for a
short while, till they started nickel and dime-ing me to death with their
charges.

Out of interest how do you see Italy defaulting???

Jim

Howcome no-one has mentioned the Zurcher Kantonal Bank? I opened an account with them when I was still just visiting here ... their minimum was CHF50K (if the K refers to thousands? I`m a bit dumb with these initial things you all use). Their service is excellent, and most of the staff speak english, and I get my statements in english.

It's very unlikely that this will happen, but...The ministry of welfare accidentally said on TV, some weeks ago, that it's still a possibility, albeith very small. The next day he tried to rectify his statement, saying that the financial situation of Italy is bad (we have the 3rd public debt in the world), but not so bad to make this scenario realistic.
I also think that this is unlikely, because being in the Euro zone, it would affect also other countries, so probably the BCE would try to do everything to prevent it from happening. And, from certain points of view, we have been less exposed to the crisis, because in the Italian culture it's not common to buy a lot of things out of debts (like in the UK or Ireland), and most of our banks preferred not to invest in derivates in the previous years, because (or thanks to) of their over-carefulness. No bank has been nationalized so far, and there aren't signs of impending cracks.
But since I studied history, and I remember the scenes on TV about Argentina in 2002, in case this should happen also in Italy, I don't want to regret the fact of not having done anything to save my assets....

OK, but given the strict rules set out for countries within the Euro region there is no greater risk of Italy defaulting than any other euro country, in other words no greater risk that Switzerland defaulting!

At the same time you must realize that by moving your money to Switzerland you are taking on a very real currency risk....


So the bottom line, assuming it is really not a tax dodge, is that you are taking on a very real currency risk in order to avoid a almos zero risk of default.... does not seem like a smart move to me!

Good luck with it in any case,

Jim

Yes, that's basically true, in fact I don't want to move my money as soon as I open the account. I'll open the account, leave it empty, and move the money only if I see bad signs in Italy.
Read this: http://www.beppegrillo.it/eng/2008/1...formation.html

In light of recent events I think it's prudent to explore safe havens for cash outside some of the more vulnerable countries...swiss national debt is low as a proportion of GDP (having an account there makes taking up Swiss gov't bills straightforward) and the banking practices allow a far more conservative ratio of cash reserves vs loans (both factors imply more banks more resistant to problems during a double-dip recession).

It is patently wrong to say that Switzerland has the same exposure as other countries in the eurozone...since Switzerland is not in the eurozone, just geographically on the same continent - not tied to euro or the problems of some of the over-leveraged member states.

There is no currency risk if you open a Postfinance account in €uros.

At the end of the day current accounts in Italy incur charges that are at least equivalent to the charges levied by Postfinance, so there is no downside to trying to protect some of your €uro cash in an account there - whilst the potential for loss in keeping balances in Italy are far higher...as a proportion of GDP Italy's outstanding debt is greater than Greece's.

Don't let people talk you out of sensible precautions when the opportunity cost is zero and potential savings are sizeable.

VF

No currency risk? Of course there's currency risk, if EUR goes down, doesn't matter where you have it, there's still currency risk

The guy who started this thread was in Italy, concerned about the security of his assets there - you would assume he was talking about assets in Euro...

...therefore if he transfers Euros from Italy to Switzerland into a Euro account without and need for foreign exchange, he has no currency risk (if you understand what the term actually means - he would have currency risk if he had to move into CHF, the danger being if the Euro subsequently strengthened against CHF).

If you are talking about the the intrinsic value of Euros falling then that is a risk for all and every asset and currency, and deciding which currencies or asset classes would be best to hold would be the subject of a whole new thread.

VF