Maybe you’ve read our recommendations on buying and storing physical gold bullion in a secure offshore location. Maybe you are looking for a secure storage solution for confidential documents. Anyway, a secure offshore safe deposit facility is a useful asset to any freedom-oriented individual.

The good news is that most Austrian or Swiss banks will be happy to rent you a safe deposit box, regardless of your passport. The bad news is that you need your passport! The famed Austrian and Swiss anonymous numbered bank accounts now only exist in the movies. Swiss banks usually want you to have an account from which they will deduct the annual box rental fee. Costs start at around 65 euro ($90) per year for a small box.

There is one exception: a safe deposit outfit in Vienna known as ‘Das Safe’- located in a beautiful Austrian palace. You’ll find more information in Peter Macfarlane’s Gold Report, available free to Q Wealth members.

Just about every bank in Austria or Switzerland also sells gold bullion coins. Purchases up to around CHF 25,000 do not require ID in Swiss banks.
Consider buying gold coins like the Austrian ‘Philharmonic’  a  one ounce Austrian gold coin, similar to the American Eagle, Krugerrand or Maple Leaf.

Austrian and Swiss law prohibits banks from opening your safe deposit box unless they are sure you are dead! Austria is one of the only countries in the world with this protection. I have been in Safety Deposit vaults in France and the USA where it seems half the boxes have stick-on government seals on them due to tax investigations, lawsuits, or  creditor claims. Those seals mean that the owner can’t get into his box, and it is scheduled to be drilled open for inspection if the owner doesn’t show up for an appointment with “the authorities.”

So Austrian and Swiss banks are great places to hold safe deposit boxes, but what if Latin America is your stomping ground? How can you buy and sell gold bullion bars and coins in major Latin American capitals like Panama City?

Unfortunately, buying gold in Panama is much harder. Banks selling gold are few and far between (though see the recommendations in Peter’s report) But there is a bit of good news… a new private, non-bank safe deposit facility is opening in Panama City, named “Best Safety Boxes” which is opening in the Credicorp Bank building in Panama City. Further details on Best Safety Boxes may be found here: Do Business in Panama – Best Safety Boxes article.

It’s interesting (even rewarding) to see that the mainstream media is beginning to say some of the things we have been telling our readers for years. For example, an article in The Daily Telegraph of London exclaims that,

Merrill Lynch has revealed that some of its richest clients are so alarmed by the state of the financial system and signs of political instability around the world that they are now insisting on the purchase of gold bars, shunning derivatives or “paper” proxies.

Gary Dugan, the chief investment officer for the US bank, is quoted in the Telegraph article as saying that clients are “genuinely worried about what the world is going to look like in 2009. It is amazing how many clients want physical gold, not ETFs. They are so worried they want a portable asset in their house. I never thought I would be getting calls from clients saying they want a box of krugerrands,” he said.

Merrill Lynch has predicted that gold will soon surpass its all time-high of $1,030 an ounce, reaching $1,150 by June.

If deflation sets in and rocks the economic system, gold will serve as a safe-haven, explains Telegraph journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. With the opposite scenario, if massive monetary stimulus sets off inflation, gold will also come into its own, as a store of value. “It’s win-win either way,” says Merrill’s Mr Dugan.

They further warned that the eurozone was likely to come under strain this year as slump deepens. “There is going to be friction as governments in the south start talking politically about coming out of the euro. I don’t see the tensions in Greece as a one-off. It is a sign of social strain in countries that have lost competitiveness.” This echoes what we have been saying for years… we would just add that the pound sterling (see my other article about the Bank of England’s new license to print money) and the US dollar look equally doomed.

Gold may be the only answer, and indeed should make up a substantial portion of any diversified investment portfolio. And I would again stress that you should be buying physical gold bullion, not exchange traded funds, gold certificates etc. Buying physical gold has actually become quite difficult of late, with long waiting lists and high premiums. But fear not – your intrepid Q Wealth Offshore Banking team are putting the final touches now to “The Gold Report” which will explain several exciting new strategies for bypassing the gold and banking cartel altogether, acquiring pure gold bullion at a reasonable price, which you then hold in a secure offshore safe deposit box to which only you or your chosen representatives hold the key. Watch this space for more details.

Additional note from the editor: While you are waiting for “The Gold Report” by Peter Macfarlane you might also enjoy our brand new five part intensive offshore course, covering topics like offshore banking, asset protection, estate planning and trusts by our very own Peter Macfarlane, plus excellent articles by Thomas Bolther and Richard Cawte with practical solutions for building wealth into the future. The question is “How do you achieve the lifestyle of complete freedom without having the first $1,000,000 in the bank?” The answers you will find in this new five part intensive course, appropriately named “Secrets of the Super Rich.” Oh and did I tell you the best thing about this course? It’s free! Sign up right now online over at QWealthReport.com