A perfect place to store gold bullion offshore? We expect gold storage operators will be opening shortly in the Singapore free zone. Peter Macfarlane reports below…

It’s not just money that Swiss banks have been haemorrhaging lately (as reported in our last Q Bytes). As Swiss and other private banks are increasingly moving asset protection and wealth management functions to Singapore banks, another interesting news item this past week was the opening of Singapore FreePort.

Singapore FreePort is a state-of-the-art secure storage facility that operates in its own duty-free zone adjacent to Singapore’s Changi Airport. The largest such facility in the world (270,000 square feet to be precise) it provides wealthy collectors with tax-free storage for their valuables.

“When you go to a bank and rent a safe, nobody knows what goes in. It’s the same thing here,” says Alain Vandenborre, president and co-founder of Singapore FreePort. “They only need to give a code that indicates the broad nature of the item—gold, wine or a painting. There’s no value, no ownership, no inventory list—all details are confidential. We offer more confidentiality than Geneva.”

Switzerland and neighboring Austria, home to the famous Das Safe, have typically been the jurisdictions of choice for ‘offshore’ storage of valuables. Geneva’s tax free port, for example, was established in 1888. But regulations and pressure are encouraging Swiss operators to look elsewhere.

It’s no surprise, therefore, to find that the majority shareholder is Natural Le Coultre, the largest art-storage and logistics operator at the Geneva Free Port. The new Singapore facility was planned by Swiss architects, Swiss engineers and Swiss security consultants.

Private rooms and vaults, barricaded by seven-ton doors, line the corridors. Unlike the free-port facilities in Switzerland, however, which are simply secure warehouses, the Singapore FreePort sought to combine security and style. A gigantic arching sculpture entitled “Cage sans Frontières,” (Cage Without Borders) spans the entire lobby.

We’ll be covering this facility in more depth in our Singapore report, due out over the summer for Q Wealth members. In the meantime, if you are not already on the distribution list for our free Q Bytes newsletter, please sign up here to receive more news like this directly in your inbox. We value your privacy.

We write a lot of articles about Panama as an offshore haven here. This is not an accident, nor an unreasonable bias. We still consider Panama to be an excellent jurisdiction in which to set up an IBC, Corporation, or Foundation… and possibly an offshore bank account. But a reader asked me a question the other day which made methink back to basics… what is the real advantage of a Panama corporation? And what kind of services to Panamanian banks really offer?

The most obvious advantage is that Panama offshore corporations are completely tax free. That’s right – as long as they do business internationally (as opposed to in Panama) they don’t even have to file a tax return, let alone pay any taxes. Some people love the simplicity this offers.

Perhaps surprisingly, however, tax is not normally the major motivation for my clients who choose to go offshore in Panama. This is partly because most major jurisdictions these days have so-called CFC or “Controlled Foreign Corporation” legislation that severely limits the tax advantages of doing business in offshore havens these days.

No, most clients these days are not tax evaders. Instead, they are looking for offshore asset protection or wealth management strategies – diversification out of the US dollar for example. (This may seem strange given that Panama’s national currency is the US dollar, but please indulge me for a moment – more on this below)

Panama Private Interest Foundations are an ideal vehicle for ‘family office’ type asset protection applications – similar in many ways to a common law trust, but with a strong offshore privacy advantage. Panama Private Interest Foundations are the instrument of choice for those seeking to pass on their hard-earned assets securely to future generations.

Panama Corporations are often used for trading activities – like import/export, consulting, or – increasingly – e-commerce. You’ll find lots more on these topics in my articles and free reports on this subject in the Members’ Area. You can start with my Report on Panama Offshore Corporations and Banking that you can download immediately for free, with no obligation – right now!

But what about setting up a Panama Corporation, Foundation or Panama LLC?

The initial process is straightforward. The cost can vary from about US$1,500 to US$5,000. You might find some a little cheaper, but many law firms in Panama have an unpleasant habit of adding hidden charges later for documents you didn’t know you needed – so beware. More on this topic too in the free report mentioned above.

Not nearly as straightforward, however, is the process of opening a bank account in Panama. Let’s compare this to the USA for a moment. The USA is still one of the easiest places in the world to open a bank account. Answer a few questions, sign some forms, and, hey presto, you’ve got yourself a bank account.

However, the OECD, American and G20 wars on terror, taxes, drugs, and money laundering have made opening corporate bank accounts in Panama very difficult. These days, Panamanian banks view opening an offshore bank account not as a right but a privilege – especially if you are an American! Expect to jump through hoops.

Up front, you will probably be asked for two bank references. If you have only one bank account currently, you can probably substitute a letter
from a credit card company for the second bank reference. You will also
need at least one local professional reference – in other words an introduction from a Panamanian law or accountancy office. “Who you know” is very important in Panama.

A really good introduction might even avoid the need for the bank references, but then your introducer had better be a personal friend of the bank manager! I’ve seen it done (and, yes, I know how to do it for my clients in need)

Then you will need two forms of government-issued ID with photo: your passport of course, then a second ID, such as a driver’s license.

Armed with those documents, make an appointment to meet with a bank
representative, and prepare your trip to Panama. During your meeting (which will seem more like a job interview), expect lots of questions. Why are you opening this account? How much money will you be depositing initially? Where is that money coming from? How much money do you expect to receive into the account on an ongoing basis? What will be the source of those funds? How much will you be withdrawing from the account each month?

Can you open an offshore bank account online without traveling to Panama? Yes, in certain special circumstances…but it is frowned upon. It is highly preferable to make the effort to get to know your banker face-by-face.

You might however question if you need a bank account in Panama at all. Of course, most Panamanian lawyers will want to sell you a Panamanian bank account. But do you really need one? If your aim is to diversify out of the dollar, for example, it makes a lot more sense to take your Panama Corporation or Foundation, then go ahead and open your account in an offshore bank in another jurisdiction – maybe Uruguay for example. You’ll find more on this and similar pieces of advice in my Panama Report available absolutely free for instant download. Click here to claim your Free Panama Report.

by Peter Macfarlane for The Q Wealth Report

Anyone looking for currency diversification strategies should consider a multi-currency bank account. Unfortunately this banking product is virtually unknown in North America and the UK, although it is commonplace in some European countries. I say ‘unfortunately’, because this is one of the most simple and convenient tools for anybody looking to diversify out of the dollar. In this article, I’ll explain more about multi-currency accounts and how you can open one.

A multi-currency account is simply a bank account, with a single account number, in which you can hold balances in various different currencies. For example, you log in through internet banking and immediately you see a summary screen showing you have so many US dollars, so many Euros, so many Canadian dollars, so many British pounds etc. Many banks allow you to hold a wide range of currencies, including more exotic currencies. Some European banks now even allow you to hold ounces or grams of gold in your account alongside national currencies.

Advantages to this are numerous:

• For a start, it is clearly a very convenient tool for anyone who is serious about diversifying currency risk. Instead of having lots of different account numbers and logins, you keep everything on one convenient screen. At any time you can easily exchange your balance in one currency (or part of it) for another currency.
• You can wire money in and out in different currencies, to and from anywhere in the world, without the need for currency conversions.  This type of account is therefore ideal if you frequently send and receive money internationally, perhaps dividend payments, or transfers related to an overseas property or family living abroad.
• Banks normally permit you to go overdrawn in one particular currency, provided your overall ‘global’ balance is in the black.
• You can have credit cards and checks linked to your main multi-currency account. Checks can be drawn in any currency. For credit cards, you normally have to choose one particular currency balance that will be debited.

Multi-currency accounts are a good, conservative way to hedge against currency risks or make profits with fluctuations. Unlike ‘forex trading’ your account is not leveraged, so there is not so much potential profit but there is also less potential for loss. This is an easy version of forex trading – for people who don’t want to have their eye on currency rates every minute or even every day.

A multi-currency bank account also beats currency ETFs hands down. With currency ETFs you buy and sell back to your base currency, paying a brokerage fee each time. With multi-currency accounts you hold the actual currency on bank deposit, rather than stock in an ETF.

Anyone who is serious about diversifying outside the dollar needs a foreign bank account –and for many people a multi-currency bank account is the logical choice. But what about the IRS’ Foreign Bank Account Reporting requirements? Simply by opening a personal account like this, you will not affect your tax situation in any way, neither positive nor negative. US persons will be liable to declare foreign bank accounts to the IRS.

However, as outlined above, there are many extra benefits besides tax benefits. One of the greatest advantages, besides the currency diversification out of the dollar, is privacy. Privacy is a basic human right, which is unfortunately disappearing fast when it comes to financial services, where domestic investments are basically an open book these days. Although you might be obliged to report your offshore multi-currency account to the IRS, private parties like credit rating agencies or lawyers who might want to sue you certainly won’t know anything about a private foreign bank account of this nature.

The multi-currency account was not designed as a sophisticated financial instrument. Rather it’s an accident of history, something that developed in smaller European countries like Switzerland, Luxembourg and Andorra where individuals commonly needed bank checking accounts in various currencies. This was especially true in the old days before the euro when Europeans did business in many different national currencies. Not coincidentally, these countries now offer the best international financial services as well as good banking privacy.

However, in modern private banking terms, such an account can provide a basic transactional banking relationship with a foreign bank, onto which you can tag many much more sophisticated wealth management services: for example, foreign currency loans for investing in bond holdings or stock portfolios. Most banks offer such services.

Needless to say, corporations, trusts, foundations and the like can also open multi-currency accounts and in such cases there is an even greater privacy benefit, and in some cases, depending on individual circumstances, tax reporting requirements may also be legally sidestepped.

How, then, can you open a multi-currency account?

Quite a number of banks in some European countries offer multi-currency services by default, as soon as you open account. Unfortunately, especially for US citizens, it has become very difficult to find a foreign bank that will open an account.

It is undoubtedly best if you can travel to meet the bank and open the account. Personal meetings and referrals from known and trusted parties still open a lot of doors that initial research might suggest are closed! It is, however, possible even today to open a multi-currency bank account through the mail.

If you would like further information, including links to specific banks that offer this service, you might like to check out my Practical Offshore Banking Guide, available free to Q Wealth members (just one of many asset protection, offshore banking and wealth creation related benefits). Another major advantage of Q Wealth membership is a free e-mail consultation on your personal situation, in which we can also make referrals to banks where we have working relationships as trusted business introducers.

You can either go sign up now, or if you prefer, sign up first absolutely free and without obligation to receive our five part online course, Secrets of the Super Rich.

If you’ve been studying the offshore and asset protection arena for a little while, you might well have heard a lot of good things about the strong privacy benefits of the Panamanian Private Interest Foundation. As an asset protection and estate planning vehicle, it’s second to none.

Most of my consulting clients who choose this vehicle are seeking to create a legal structure that will reduce tax liabilities, protect their hard-earned assets from lawsuits or claims, and make sure that on death, their estates pass to their chosen beneficiaries without unnecessary legal disputes or fees.

The Panama foundation is based on the legendary Liechtenstein Foundation or Anstalt, the preferred wealth management choice of generations of continental Europeans. But it is not so well known or understood in the English speaking world. And these days, Panama offers better offshore secrecy and confidentiality than Liechtenstein.

You might well have Googled a few websites and read articles about Panama Foundations in rather confusing terms. Such articles are often written up either by internet marketers who have little idea about law, or by Panamanian lawyers who have little idea about Anglo-American common law and whose first language is not English.

But few people understand what kind of legal animal a Panama foundation really is. That’s probably a very good thing for those of us using them! The difficulty for many clients is of course deciding upon the best course of action or structure to use. But I am about to let you in on the secret… my new free report sets out to demystify the Panama Foundation, explain the concept in plain English, and explain the differences between a Foundation and a Trust of the Anglo-American variety.

Should you set up a Corporation… or a Foundation? Or both? You will find the answers in my latest report specifically about Foundations. It’s called “Panama Foundations: Use and Benefits Manual” and subtitled ‘Panama Foundations and Trusts Demystified.’

Once again, this report is FREE OF CHARGE. I will explain below how you can obtain your copy.

But what exactly is a Foundation? A Panama Foundation combines some of the best parts of a trust, and the best parts of an IBC or Offshore Company into one legal entity. A Foundation is typically set up to passively hold assets like bank accounts, stocks and shares, and real estate.

The key thing is that, unlike corporations, Foundations do not have owners. They have beneficiaries instead (for example, your heirs). The interesting thing about this is that in most countries it legally sidesteps reporting requirements.

Even in the USA, there are ways you can structure a Panama Foundation to legally avoid IRS reporting requirements. Because US tax law doesn’t specifically recognize Foundations, it is quite flexible on this – you decide how to declare your Foundation. (This only applies to US taxpayers. Other nationalities have it much easier…)

In my report I also explain the ultimate asset protection strategy… by keeping the assets in another country on another continent, you are protected not just by strict Panamanian secrecy and asset protection laws, but by something even stronger… what somebody doesn’t know, they can’t tell. You can make sure that your Foundation are structured so there is absolutely no record held in Panama of what the assets are and where they are located.

This new report, free of charge to registered Q Wealth members covers five topics. You will learn:

• What is a Panama Foundation. What is the difference between a trust and a Foundation, and why is a Foundation often more secure and private than a trust?

• Panama Foundations for Estate and Inheritance Planning

• Panama Foundations as an Asset Protection tool

• Banking for Panama Foundations

• Taxation of Panama Foundations

As always, I’ve kept things simple. This report is written in plain English, designed to explain legal concepts in simple terms. It is not an in-depth legal textbook…. But it has been reviewed by both Panamanian and British lawyers.

This report on Panama Foundations could be yours free in the next five minutes or so. All I ask in return is that, if you’ve not already done so, you sign up as a full member of The Q Wealth Report. You will be granted instant access to the Members’ Only section where you will be able to download this report in pdf format. Of course, if you’re already a QWR member you’re ahead of the game – just log in as usual and you can download it right now.

Of course, this brand new report is only one of the many benefits you will receive as a Q Wealth member. We’re not just about Panama – we’re focused on protecting and creating wealth internationally. We do all the hard work, costly research and due diligence for you – to take you from the overload of the information age directly to where you need to be. As a publishing company, not an offshore services provider, we deliver impartial advice from a global perspective – not biased advice from a Central American perspective, which is what you might well find elsewhere. Need I say more?

As a member you’ll also have access, for example, to the Practical Offshore Banking Guide, the report on buying and holding Precious Metals offshore, a report on Due Diligence on High Yield Investment Programs, and much much more… including the free consultation benefit I mentioned above. You’ll also receive every quarter our flagship publication, The Q Wealth Report.

All this, for less than a good lawyer would probably charge just for talking to you and giving you a fraction of this information. $87 per year to be precise. And if you are not 100% satisfied, you can cancel your subscription at any time and request a full refund. No quibbles, no questions asked.

To sign up right now you just need a Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB or Discover card. (If you prefer you can also download a mail-in subscription form to pay by cheque or money order)

Sign up online right now at http://www.qwealthreport.com/signup.php

Kind regards,

Peter Macfarlane

Offshore Banking Consultant and Joint Q Wealth Editor

P.S. Don’t forget we also offer separately an absolutely free report on the Hidden Truths Behind Panama Banking and Corporations. You can obtain the Banking and Corporations report without any need to sign up even. If you haven’t got yours yet, get it at the link above.

When your government acts “above the law”, it is time for serious planning…

The following is reproduced with kind permission from Mountain Vision, the newsletter for clients of BFI Capital in Switzerland. The idea of privacy being a cornerstone of asset protection is very simple when you think about it. Long before banks even existed, people protected their assets by hiding them!

But sometimes we get so bogged down in legal details that we can’t see the wood for the trees. Legal protection is only as good as the legal system (and aren’t you trying to protect yourself against the legal systen?) This article discusses how you can achieve the goal of total privacy and confidentiality for asset protection purposes, while remaining compliant with the law in your country of residence. It discusses the use of physical precious metals such as gold bullion, and international life insurance and annuities of the type offered by BFI.

Anyone who understands anything about asset protection also understands the importance of privacy. It is primarily privacy that protects you from the intrusions of frivoluous lawsuits, greedy attorneys and other predators. Asset protection laws and structures are only the second line of defense. A good asset protection plan should aim at first avoiding exposure and visibility altogether.

What this DOES NOT mean is that you must break any laws. To the contrary, we recommend doing your offshore planning compliantly. However, in reading the newspapers, one could come to the conclusion that privacy is criminal. It is not. Governments around the world are running into fiscal problems, particularly the governments of Germany, the United Kingdom and America. Thus, they are setting off on an aggressive hunt for tax money, increasingly employing methods that are beyond legality.

When your government acts “above the law”, it is time for serious planning. In the absence of rule of law, the most fundamental prerequisite of a functioning free country is undermined. At that stage, protecting your freedom and your property within that country becomes a gamble. Privacy and property are in jeopardy and need to be protected OUTSIDE of your country.

Key principles of offshore privacy

This is the point where you enter the realm of offshore (i.e. international) wealth management and tax planning. A few principles in this context must be understood by all of our Mountaineers, no matter which jurisdiction they come from.

• The purpose of privacy is to protect the well-being and fortune of you and your family. Privacy does not necessarily require a numbered account though. It starts with your going about your affairs “quietly”, particularly in jurisdictions with a high level of litigation. It is important to keep a low profile if interested in avoiding unnecessary risk exposure.

• Privacy amongst tax authorities within a country that is fiscally bankrupt will generally not exist. Countries like those mentioned earlier have given up such privacy protection long ago. Banks, accountants, and other financial professionals have, to a large degree, become tax agents. The transparent citizen has become the norm.

• Safekeeping and investing assets offshore – in other words, outside of the borders of your country – per se is NOT illegal. What may be required though is regular reporting of those assets, depending on where and how your assets are deposited and managed abroad. Not declaring assets held overseas is what can get you into trouble.

• Making “offshore” (i.e. international) arrangements for the deposit and management of your assets does not mean that you can thereby leave the tax rules of your country of residence behind. They will generally apply elsewhere, too. Therefore, one should aim at implementing an offshore plan that achieves asset protection and privacy in compliance with the rules of one´s country of residence.

The ingredients of a solid plan

The ultimate objective of a solid international wealth management strategy should be to incorporate the benefits of overseas privacy while respecting the rules. The key elements of achieving that strategy are to implement a plan that provides for TAX DEFERMENT and NON-REPORTABILITY.

In most jurisdictions, there is no reporting required unless there is a taxable event. Thus, countries with a wealth tax, such as France or Switzerland, will require annual reporting of all assets. Most other countries, for example Germany, the UK, the United States, Spain or South Africa, do not have wealth taxes. Therefore, the employment of investment vehicles and structures that offer tax deferment will generally not be reportable.

The United States presents a bit of an exception here. Treasury Department Form 90-22.1 requires the reporting of all offshore accounts. The form was adjusted recently provoking widespread commentaries. One question that has been raised frequently was whether the new form requires the reportability of international life insurance policies and annuities. The answer, based on a legal opinion we’ve obtained from a top-notch international legal firm, is clearly NO. As long as the policy is tax-compliant, i.e. provides for compliant tax deferability, the state of non-reportability continues as in the past.

While other countries still have a number of strategies, including private placement life insurance and tailored annuities, the US is pretty much left with two strategies that offer compliant privacy and tax deferment:

1. physically stored precious metals without using a bank account
2. compliant life insurance “wrappers” and annuity policies.

Editor’s note: You can obtain a free subscription to Mountain Vision here. Don’t forget if you haven’t already done so to sign up also for our free Q Bytes newsletter from The Q Wealth Report.

The bailout of General Motors is another nail in the coffin of the US dollar. But still, most people haven’t even noticed the real ‘stealth’ devaluation being imposed by the United States government. And yet all of us, Americans or not, are affected by this in a big way, due to the dollar’s status as a reserve currency (and also due to China’s effective control of the dollar, that I have previously touched on…)

Is the dollar “collapsing” or merely “declining”? I believe it is collapsing, but some people might misunderstand this. The dollar is not just going to crash one day, or even one week. It’s an ongoing thing, that started many years ago but has substantially speeded up in the last five years or so (yes, even during the times when the US economy was supposedly booming, that too was based on scams by the financial services sector)

Geithner, Bernanke, Obama and the whole crew are involved in a constant battle to patch over the dollar collapse.  Yet in spite of their attempts, the cracks have widened. The greenback continues its inexorable march downward. This week’s events at G.M. have accelerated the collapse a little more. And I believe that the collapse of the dollar will continue to accelerate with time. What will happen when it hits the bottom is anybody’s guess, but I certainly want to be well prepared when it happens. You should be too. And the Q Wealth website is about helping you do just that – protecting your assets from this stealth devaluation.

The US is not going to crash like Mexico did in 1995, or like Argentina and Brazil have done since with overnight currency devaluations. Neither will go bankrupt in one day like Iceland. The US government still has way too much influence and political power for that to happen. It’s a stealth devaluation because your portfolio will appear to be going higher. You will have more dollars. The stock market will be up. But in real terms, you are losing money faster than ever before. This is what some people have a hard time getting their head around – but it’s very important. The government will try to persuade you that things are going well, when really they are not. Bottom line? It’s a scam being perpetrated on you by government. If you care about protecting your assets and creating new wealth, you have to understand this.

So where can you actually put your money to protect against the stealth devaluation and collapse of the dollar? What about other currencies? Well, necessity dictates that we need to use currencies like dollars, euros and pounds to carry on business. And common investing sense dictates that you should diversify assets, so at least having a proportion of euros is better than having all dollars. It’s a start.

But unfortunately none of these currencies look good. Every other major central bank is participating in the very same scam, meaning that their currencies are equally doomed. So it would not be safe to assume that buying, say, euros, will give you any serious protection against the loss of your assets.

My number one mantra to clients is diversification, diversification and diversification. If you have a portfolio above six figures, it should be in different currencies, in different banks, on different continents. Opening overseas personal accounts, while having no tax consequences, can certainly help asset protection…the geographic diversification protects against the threat called government, while the mere fact that the assets are offshore significantly reduces the risk of you being sued in the first place, especially if you live in a litigious place like the USA or increasingly the UK.

Generally, private international banks are also a whole lot more flexible and service minded too. They offer Swiss-style wealth management banking facilities. For example, I noticed the other day that one of my European private offshore banks (not in Switzerland in this case) had quietly added gold ounces to the list of currencies I could hold in my multi-currency checking account. I guess that means I can even write cheques denominated in gold ounces, though I haven’t tried that yet. I see some of the larger European clearing banks like RAIFFEISEN ZENTRALBANK OESTERREICH AG in Austria are now maintaining gold correspondent accounts for their institutional clients. Interesting, huh?

Which are the best offshore banks for this kind of wealth management? For the answer to that question you need to be a member of The Q Wealth Report. Download the Practical Offshore Banking Guide (available instantly as soon as your payment is approved) and you will find ten of them for starters, with impartial comments on each… together with the form for a free e-mail consultation if you would like to discuss your individual circumstances with me directly.

Gold, probably is number one on my list of recommendations as a hedge against dollar decline. There are ways you should buy gold, and ways you shouldn’t. One way you should not invest in gold is by following typical mainstream advice and investing in ETFs, the most famous of which is GLD the SPDR Gold ETF. Ther are significant concerns about whether you could really get your gold out, or even your money back in dollars (which is not what you would want anyway at that stage) in the case of an economic meltdown.

For example, what do you think of this quote directly from the GLD prospectus?

The Trust’s gold may be subject to loss, damage, theft or restriction on access.

There is a risk that part or all of the Trust’s gold could be lost, damaged or stolen. Access to the Trust’s gold could also be restricted by natural events (such as an earthquake) or human actions (such as a terrorist attack). Any of these events may adversely affect the operations of the Trust and, consequently, an investment in the Shares.

The Trust may not have adequate sources of recovery if its gold is lost, damaged, stolen or destroyed and recovery may be limited, even in the event of fraud, to the market value of the gold at the time the fraud is discovered.

If you would like to know about better ways to invest in Gold offshore, you need my Gold Report – How to Buy and Hide Gold Bullion Offshore which is likewise available free of charge for immediate download to our paid up members.

Not a member yet? Sign up to Q Wealth Report here.

In this article: which Swiss banks still offer privacy, and which do not (like Credit Suisse). And where to find better wealth management services that are not subject to the same political pressure… in other words, private banking that really is private…

We’ve all heard a lot recently about the supposed downfall of banking privacy in Switzerland. I’ve personally been contacted by many clients of UBS who have been notified that their Swiss bank accounts are being closed because of the recent scandals in the US.  Many clients undoubtedly chose UBS thinking it was “too big to fail,” or maybe just because they had hundreds of sales reps in the USA, not realizing that UBS was also “too big and too exposed.”

UBS actually describes itself on its website as “one of the world’s leading financial firms”…  and therein lies the problem! It’s not really a Swiss bank at all… it’s a global bank just like JPMorgan or Citigroup.

I’m on record elsewhere as saying that Credit Suisse will have similar problems soon too. If your money is in Credit Suisse, you have been warned! It’s too easy for foreign governments to put pressure on big international banks to give up their secrets.

So what are you to do if you want to bank in Switzerland? For starters, you could go for either one of those ultra-discreet private banks. They are so discreet they don’t have websites, they don’t even have their names outside their offices. But they are certainly a dying breed. Besides, they are overrated in my view – charging enormous fees for service that as a sophisticated investor you probably don’t need or want. In the last few years many have been taken over by bigger banks like UBS and the large Swiss Private Bank Julius Baer.

A better option in my view would be one of the Swiss Cantonal banks. These are banks owned by Swiss local governments (cantons) which means they are both very strong, and very focused on their local markets. They are good for three reasons:

1. They don’t have too many overseas clients – that makes them less of a target in the first place for foreign governments.
2. They often don’t have any offices outside Switzerland – which makes it much harder to apply pressure on them
3. Being associated with the government gives them additional political clout.

Many little cantons have their own banks and the best way to open accounts with them is to get on a plane. If you feel like paying a sizeable fee for a referral, a company called Micheloud & Cie has made quite a business out of bank introductions and is currently busy promoting Cantonal Bank accounts. But remember membership of Q Wealth costs just $87 and our members do get FREE bank referrals – full details in our Practical Offshore Banking Guide 2009.

One of the bigger Cantonal banks, for example,  is Zuercher Kantonalbank, from Zurich. Here’s a link to ZKB’s Private Banking division, but the site is only in German. I’m sure they speak impeccable Englis – but not having English language publicity on the internet is undoubtedly  a calculated decision about the clientele they are seeking. You probably need a good local referral and a sizeable deposit to get in the door, but this is the kind of Swiss bank you should be looking for if your aims are privacy, class and good service at a fair price.

Many Swiss banks, of course, will no longer accept accounts from US or EU citizens at all. Who can blame them, given the recent pressures. In this case it may be necessary (and a darn site better privacy wise) to look for alternatives outside Switzerland. Neighboring Liechtenstein is no longer desirable, given that it is signing agreements with the US treasury and is working on a ‘swift agreement’ with UK tax authorities amongst others.

Austria is known as “where the Swiss go for private banking” and indeed Austrian banks have world class wealth management services. However, their membership of the European Union could be a problem. Austria is also a great place to buy gold bullion offshore.

Indeed I think to find real banking privacy today it is necessary to go further afield. Not so much to specific countries, but to banks that realise that jurisdictional arbitrage is one way to enhance their clients’ privacy. The modern boutique private bank will have highly qualified private bankers who are able to open accounts at subsdiary banks in several different jurisdictions. As an additional layer of both privacy and asset protection, offshore corporations and foundations are always a useful way of handling offshore accounts too.

I don’t have space to get further into ‘how to achieve real banking privacy’ here, but it’s the kind of thing we cover in our quarterly issues of The Q Wealth Report and at our events. You’ll also find the publications in our members’ section represent an excellent start, and I am happy to answer questions by e-mail on this topic from paid subscribers (sorry, but I just don’t have time to answer queries from people who have not signed up) Our next event is scheduled for Bantry, Ireland, so maybe you can make it? If you would like to be kept informed on such matters please take a moment to sign up to our free e-mail newsletter Q Bytes