Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Making Money With Offshore Banking

By thulas


Offshore banking means transferring money and assets overseas to be managed by banking institutions in jurisdictions outside of your country of residence. The origin of the term offshore is related to British Channel Islands which are situated physically away from the main land. These islands provided complete freedom from taxes and as a result became every investors' final destination to invest freely and let their money grow. Banking institutions did not let this opportunity to go past and they started to operate from these islands making the most of the investment scenario.

Subsequent growth came from other countries which followed the same route and offered similar benefits. These days the term signifies having properties anywhere outside the country of residence. Normally these locations have laws which backs offshore banking. Such laws would ensure that banking institutions maintain strict secrecy and privacy. Managing offshore accounts can be done in several dubious ways as the laws in this area are rather fluid.

There is no dearth of help and information in case anyone is looking for them regarding offshore banking. It is to be noted that professional guidance must be sought before any investment decisions are made. The international banking system is filled with rules and regulations which are rather slipshod, thus care must be taken to avoid the related risks before you make any financial commitment.

Also, it's not free to establish an offshore banking account because they usually require a sizable sum of money. This ranges from around two thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars, depending on the account type and period of holding. The more you keep your money in the bank without any transactions, the higher the rate of interest. This would definitely be impacted by the choice of offshore banking institution and thus it is prudent to seek professional advice before any investment is made.

Depending on the banking route chosen, the initial deposit as demanded by offshore banks could be really low even one dollar. Only one document is required by some banks. One can witness this from a bank like HSBC whose advertising slogan is 'the world's local bank' and their customers can operate through their online banking services and manage their account irrespective their physical location. HSBC is one bank which is famous for developing few of the easiest and customer friendly international banking systems which makes them one of the most favored banks in the industry.

Information related to offshore banking is freely available from the internet or offline resources. A wide variety of free information on offshore banking is out there to make you more savvy in the matter and help you make right choices. This type of free information can be available to individuals or companies but business data would cost money in case they wish to enhance their profits.

The fact that trillions of dollars are handled everyday makes offshore banking one of the biggest financial industries in the world. The competition has become fierce and banks are willing to offer more for less or free to attract new customers and to inform people that could benefit the most from their services.

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