Saturday 16 September 2017

Reasons why you need an offshore bank account today

An offshore bank account is an account held by a resident of a country in a foreign land. This means that the account is not in your country of residence but is located in another country, generally having a low tax structure. The concept of having an offshore bank account gained popularity after the 1934 Swiss Banking Act. This act barred the bank employees or the bank authority in general from revealing details of any account holder to any government or agency. This urged the public to look into opening accounts in banks outside their own country to enjoy greater benefits. Following are the reasons why you should consider opening an offshore bank account immediately:

• Political Risk Dilution- One of the biggest threats to your savings can be the policies of your own government. The government may decide to increase bank deposit taxes like in Spain, or introduce capital controls like in Iceland. These measures can be taken up by the government to get more funds if they fail to meet their own financial requirements. Having offshore accounts reduces this risk as you can have savings outside your government jurisdiction.

• Currency Diversification- Offshore accounts can also act as a means to internationalize your savings. This means that you can hold your savings in foreign currencies in this type of accounts. It provides protection to your purchasing power and also diversifies your portfolio risk which is the risk related to each investment.

• High Interest Rates- The interest rates of all the commercial banks in a country are almost the same. There is not much variation among these interest rates. But if you decide to open an offshore bank account then your range of options increases multifold. You can then choose a bank provides you with higher interest rates.

• Secure Medical Care Abroad- Having an offshore account will ensure that you have access to your savings at all times. In case of medical emergencies where you may need to go abroad, it will save you the hassle of having to transfer funds from your home country for payment. You can easily use the savings in your offshore accounts for this purpose.

So, if you have one or more offshore accounts it will certainly prove beneficial for you in the long run. It will provide you benefits like high interest rates, save your savings from high tax rates and would also ensure medical and financial security in any case of emergency.

1 comment: