Offshore Banking Today
Decades ago, there were a limited number of offshore banks available and back then, very often than not, the general public linked offshore banking to criminal activities, terrorism-financing and money laundering. Today, offshore banking has become a worldwide business.
What sort of services does an offshore bank offer? An offshore bank offers the full services that you can obtain from any domestic banks such as personal and corporate checking and savings accounts, internet banking facilities, electronic funds transfers, debit and ATM cards, credit cards, loans, as well as mortgages.
So, why go for offshore banking? Some wealth managers will advise their affluent clients to invest offshore due to several reasons. The most important reason would be privacy. Legislations protect investors from creditors, tax authorities and any other interested parties, unless of course if the investor is proven to be involved in criminal activities.
Offshore banks are often located in jurisdictions that either do not tax or have low taxation on investments. Thus, investors often consider offshore banks as tax havens. Other benefits of investing offshore include being able to invest globally as domestic banks might not have such opportunities. Finally, asset protection is another benefit, which an offshore bank can offer. Having an offshore account protects investors from invasive bureaucracy and lawsuits.
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