Post: #1

I know there are a few people here who are into the five-flag theory stuff, so I wanted to ask: Does anyone know how I can open a bank account in either Norway, Hong Kong, or Singapore from the U.S.--that is, without having to go there in person?

Types like Simon Black make you get "memberships" for this information but I don't think there's any secret to it. I just have no experience, so I'm having a bit of trouble finding out how I could do that.

I don't have a fortune to plunk down. I'd open it with < $2K and then just throw a percentage of my slavecheck there as a hedge against inflation.

Anyone know if this is doable?

Post: #2

As an American you don't. Foreign banks want nothing to do with Uncle Sam because of IRS requirements.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2...americans/

Post: #3

Yep, I know about FATCA and the rest. Perhaps I would be better off saving that money to get a second passport.

Post: #4

Or use pre loaded gift cards.

Post: #5

(05-23-2014 03:21 PM)vinman Wrote:  Or use pre loaded gift cards.

I haven't heard of those. Do they go by another name? I'm finding stuff about department store gift cards instead.

Post: #6

They usually don't have a name. You can get them at banks and currency exchanges.

Post: #7

lol @ the people saying not to do it...

Anyway, I'm not sure about Norway, but for HK you must show up in person. http://www.asiabs.com/index.htm is legit and can help you with the process of setting up an HK corp.

Post: #8

It is difficult to find a bank in Hong Kong that will deal with Americans. Singapore is your best bet.

Lots of great details in this PDF
http://nomadcapitalist.com/wp-content/up...-12-13.pdf

Post: #9

Loyal Bank in St. Vincent/Grenadines.

You can open a brokerage account in Singapore dollars with Boom in Hong Kong. No ATM card, but you can treat it as a defacto savings account by funding it and simply refraining from trading.

Both of the above allow Americans to open an account without travel.

Be sure to file FBAR by June 30 (as of tax year 2013 it must be submitted online), and include FATCA with your 1040.

Post: #10

Thanks for the great links and the very interesting suggestion from Trav_Ler, that one I can definitely do right now.

travolta, why is it advisable to set up an HK corporation in order to have a bank account there? I have heard it is difficult for Americans to open accounts at HK banks, does this have something to do with it?

Wish I had thought of all this stuff back when I lived in China and HK was a five-hour train ride away.

(05-25-2014 05:56 PM)Trav_Ler Wrote:  Loyal Bank in St. Vincent/Grenadines.

You can open a brokerage account in Singapore dollars with Boom in Hong Kong. No ATM card, but you can treat it as a defacto savings account by funding it and simply refraining from trading.

Just to be clear: I can open a Boom account online and choose to have the USD with which I fund it converted to HK dollars?

Post: #11

(05-25-2014 05:56 PM)Trav_Ler Wrote:  Loyal Bank in St. Vincent/Grenadines.

You can open a brokerage account in Singapore dollars with Boom in Hong Kong. No ATM card, but you can treat it as a defacto savings account by funding it and simply refraining from trading.

Both of the above allow Americans to open an account without travel.

Be sure to file FBAR by June 30 (as of tax year 2013 it must be submitted online), and include FATCA with your 1040.

Are the trading commissions high?

Post: #12

Just to be clear: I can open a Boom account online and choose to have the USD with which I fund it converted to HK dollars?

Yes, whatever currency you wire to Boom will be converted into HKD (presuming you chose HKD when you opened your Boom account). Problem is, HKD is pegged to USD as Hong Kong government policy, so a HKD balance is effectively same as having a USD account. Fortunately, Boom gives you the option (when you fill out your brokerage account application) of SGD (Singapore dollars), a currency which is not being printed with abandon. Holding SGD is one good way to diversify out of USD. Less volatile than precious metals, though as with PMs IRS will tax you on any realized gains when you spend or convert the SGD.

Speaking of precious metals, "Silver Bullion" company (founded by a German expat, same building as Certis Cisco safe deposit boxes, 20 Jalan Afifi street) lets you buy and store (segregated in individual, barcoded pouches) precious metals without having to travel to Singapore. There’s even an option to have your holdings automatically locked down in the event your country declares PM ownership illegal.

IMO it’s insane to have zero allocation to PMs these days. Even the non-hyper inflation of the 1970’s cut people’s USD account purchasing power in half. Ouch. Just as with today, in the 1970’s PMs were regarded by the mainstream as tinfoil hattery until gold had already risen ten-fold. Gold went from $35 to $200, then when it fell back to $100 the sheep sold their metals, as they have been doing the last couple of years.

I don’t want to derail this thread, please do not ask about or comment on PMs in this thread, there are PM threads elsewhere on this site. But, holy shit. IMO any man who isn’t at at least 10% PMs will fully deserve the ass whipping he gets when foreigners sell their dollars and they flood back into USA. Google Jim Rickards, resets of the global financial system aren’t doomer fantasy, they are a routine occurrence.

Are [Boom’s] trading commissions high?

I've done almost no trading at Boom, but their phone reps speak Engrish, you can give them a call or email them to ask about commissions. BTW, US persons can't trade US equities at Boom, same as with all offshore brokerages AFAIK.

Post: #13

Thanks, Trav_Ler.

I already have an account with Silver Bullion, very convenient way to start storing the best insurance there is.

Last question. Just to be clear. The money I give to Boom will be stored in Loyal Bank in St. Vincent/Grenadines, is that right?

Post: #14

PS. Also, using the brokerage account as a de facto savings account is fine, I don't need an ATM card or checks, but how simple would the process be of taking my money back out of that brokerage account and transferring it to my personal account? Pretty standard and painless?

Post: #15

The money I give to Boom will be stored in Loyal Bank in St. Vincent/Grenadines, is that right?


No, Loyal and Boom are separate entities, nothing to do with each other.


how simple would the process be of taking my money back out of that brokerage account and transferring it to my personal account?


I don't remember for sure, maybe you have to download a form, fill it out and sign it, and fax it to them. Then they wire the money to the bank account you specified on the form (you'll get dinged around 1% for the currency conversion). Boom being a brokerage and not a bank, the receiving account must be in the same name as the Boom account, e.g., the Boom account for Joe Smith can't wire funds to a Jane Doe bank account, only to a Joe Smith bank account.

Post: #16

Oh, I misunderstood.

In the case of Loyal Bank in St. Vincent/Grenadines, did you mention them because they make it possible for someone in the States to open a bank account with them via mail or online? I see on their site they have a dedicated address for people in the Americas, so I'm inclined to believe they do. If so, have you banked with them? What are you impressions?

Another question: What exactly will happen if we wire more than $10,000 abroad? Am I going to have NSA goons at my door or be put on some watch list?

Post: #17

Hm. I see Loyal only allows you to hold currencies in EUR, USD, GBP, CHF, JPY, AUD, CAD. I was hoping for RMB or SGD.

Post: #18

No personal experience with Loyal, I'm not a US citizen so I thankfully don't have the challenges US citizens have with international banking. But they've been around a while and appear in lists of "The few institutions that still accept American smallfry clients." Any such bank is much more expensive (monthly fixed account maintenance fee, transaction fees, etc.) to deal with than domestic banks, so you need to ask yourself what you're trying to accomplish by going offshore. As you pointed out, Loyal doesn't offer RMB or SGD, just the currencies that are soon (IMO) going to fall sharply against the RMB, SGD, and PMs. If I had a micro nest egg I would just stick with silver, stored outside my country of citizenship/residence.

Amounts over usd10k are only an issue when transporting cash; even when you declare you're carrying more than 10k with you, it may be confiscated on the pretext that only criminals carry around large amounts of currency. Then you can hire a lawyer to try and get it back, heh. Unless one is illegally concealing reportable assets, the idea that offshore bank accounts or large international bank wires, in and of themselves, flag one for ill government attention/treatment is bosh.

This is getting pretty detailed for RVF, I would suggest InternationalMan.com for anyone interested in digging deeper.

Post: #19

(05-27-2014 04:41 AM)Trav_Ler Wrote:  Speaking of precious metals, "Silver Bullion" company (founded by a German expat, same building as Certis Cisco safe deposit boxes, 20 Jalan Afifi street) lets you buy and store (segregated in individual, barcoded pouches) precious metals without having to travel to Singapore. There’s even an option to have your holdings automatically locked down in the event your country declares PM ownership illegal.

Are Silver Bullion the same people as Bullion Star? Also, how do you think they compare to Hard Assets Alliance, which International Man is always pushing?

Post: #20

Bumping this thread...

I have a friend who is bugging out from the Tax and Tax again overregulated Obamunists LGBTQ agenda SJW crusaders paradise called the USA.

He had a business - gold recovery for the Jewelry industry that got over regulated - so he cashed out, sold his home, car and all furnishings and living with his daughter for a couple weeks till he leaves the USA. He applied for early social security and is about to split overseas with a $1700 a month cushion courtesy uncle sam... he is looking hard at the FSU countries - interestingly he found an AirB&B Apartment in a decent part of town for $380 a month and the cost of living there is minimal restaurant meals 5 to 10 USD and Americans admired so a bit of Yank God factor is a plus. Best is one of the most pro business locations on the planet with very low taxes and low red tape environment...

So where is he going - turns out Nomad Capitalist did a nice write up on this little visited FSU country hint on the Black Sea:

http://nomadcapitalist.com/2014/12/03/ge...ies-world/

I bought the Nomad Capitalist offshore banking guide for opening a bank account beyond the IRS, litigious business issues, frivorce rapey ladies and their lawyers etc etc. PM me with your generic email gmail/yahoomail for a copy... Problem is it was not updated with new FSU Georgia banks info.

A recent update to the NomadCapitalist travels regarding FSU Georgia as of 30 September 2015:

I just back from Georgia, where you can open a bank account with as little as $6.29...

... you can get a Visa debit card for free...

... and you can do it all in a matter of minutes.

The reality is, some offshore banks SUCK. HSBC and Citi are two that come to mind that I really, really dislike these days.

On the other hand, there are banks like those in Georgia that make the process so easy.

The challenge is finding the right bank account that meets your criteria:

1. Stability
2. Ease of opening
3. Ease of travel (if any)
4. Currencies available
5. Minimum deposit
6. Acceptance of US citizens

Each of us has different needs. For instance, I chose to go with a bank that requires a $500 deposit because online banking is better there.

I'm also looking at opening an account in the EU with a $2,500 minimum deposit.

So the NC is listing a FSU Georgia bank with a minimum $500 deposit that has excellent online banking...

I will be updating this post/thread periodically as my associate travels through Eastern Europe looking for a place to retire outside the clutches of the overbearing Fed IRS and feminized anti male judicial system as he seeks a local loyal loving female and a country stable and friendly towards specifically America expats subject to global taxation, fatca and fbar regs.

He is starting in FSU Georgia with an Eye on Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, possibly Ukraine and Russia.

Post: #21

This site I sometimes visit deals with quite a few of the topics mentioned in this thread, lots of gems over there:

https://www.streber.st/

Quote:STREBER Weekly
International and Offshore Business, Banking, Payments, and Compliance.

Post: #22

I recently looked into setting up a Singapore bank account for asset protection but found out about FATCA and the long arm of the IRS, which has caused foreign banks to avoid offering their services to US citizens.

Then it crossed my mind to set up an offshore business and set up an account as the business to avoid the reluctance of foreign banks to deal with Americans.

I imagine that it comes with considerable cost to set up such an account but I also imagine that it comes with considerable tax savings.

From what I understand, you can set up such an account from the States. I also imagine that such an account would be immune from fatca.

Post: #23

Quote:He had a business - gold recovery for the Jewelry industry that got over regulated - so he cashed out, sold his home, car and all furnishings and living with his daughter for a couple weeks till he leaves the USA. He applied for early social security and is about to split overseas with a $1700 a month cushion courtesy uncle sam... he is looking hard at the FSU countries - interestingly he found an AirB&B Apartment in a decent part of town for $380 a month and the cost of living there is minimal restaurant meals 5 to 10 USD and Americans admired so a bit of Yank God factor is a plus. Best is one of the most pro business locations on the planet with very low taxes and low red tape environment...

Not sure the relevancy of the "tax " situation. If he is on early SS (62 yrs old min) he isn't going to pay taxes in the foreign country he is in but he will still owe uncle same taxes. He might as well have a FDIC insured bank account to deposit his income.

TBH at his age being in a FSU country isn't probably ideal. Have you seen the health care there? With his 1700, I am sure he could buy a decent vodka for pain relief.