Best Easy & Safe EU Bank to park $100K

[reelay]

Need to diversify. Looking to park 6 figure number in a low-fee AAA bank (Poilsh citizen & resident) previous USA resident

Current savings are in USD parked in the USA bank at 4% APY. (which is awesome, however I'm worried that I'm not a resident there anymore and can't really keep it like that)

No need debit card. No need transfer or recieve funds from 3rd parties or customers.

Looking for cheap banking fees to park cash for future real estate purchases. Looking to add an additional $20-30K a year to that bank.

Please, preferably no bank in Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, UK : fees too expansive.

Thoughts on Andorra? Mora Banc Grup? Any other options, in Germany, Holland, Sweden?

Willing to travel to the country to open it.

Thanks for any advice

 

[jafo]

reelay said:
previous USA resident
Click to expand...

Never ever disclose this to ANY bank or Financial Institution. It's the Kiss of Death!
That's all I have to add for now.

 

[reelay]

Noted! I heard that EU banks don't like Americans and it's hard to open.

 

[jafo]

reelay said:
I heard that EU banks don't like Americans
Click to expand...

and US residents!

 

[Sols]

reelay said:
Please, preferably no bank in Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, UK : fees too expansive.

Thoughts on Andorra? Mora Banc Grup?
Click to expand...

Andorran banks want at least 500,000-1,000,000 EUR minimum deposit. It used to be possible with 100,000 but that doesn't cut it anymore, AFAIK. If it does, it might be on condition that you reach a higher sum within a period of time.

reelay said:
Any other options, in Germany, Holland, Sweden?
Click to expand...

Germany: N26, maybe DKB.
Netherlands: Bunq.
Sweden: Intergiro (EMI, not a bank).

As for traditional banks, you can ask around but it's going to be difficult, especially if you can't provide a good reason for banking there. Banks don't make much money on just having a five-figure sum sitting there.

If you look at Nordic banks, they might open to non-residents. But they want six or seven figure deposits, and they'll place you with their subsidiaries somewhere else (for example Luxembourg).

Banca di San Marino (BSM - Banca di San Marino: servizi bancari per privati e aziende | BSM - Banca di San Marino) is or at least has historically been quite easy to open an account with as a non-resident if you're EU citizen/resident. Reasonable fees.

Swissquote has very low (if any?) fees for transactional banking. Just make sure you only conduct first-party transfers (i.e. to/from your own accounts at other banks). Flow Bank is another, similar option.

The identity-crise-ridden bank BluOr Bank (its third or fourth name within the last 15 years) accepts online applications and doesn't have any noteworthy minimum requirements last I checked.

Mano.Bank in Lithuania is still young but licensed as a bank (special banking license).

Have you considered non-European options? In Mauritius, you would qualify as a wealthy client with some banks (such as AfrAsia, Bank One, ABSA). Transacting in and out isn't as fast and cheap as SEPA, but it's pretty fast and cheap for being SWIFT.

Toggle signature
This is the probably the answer to your question.

 

[Clank]

If you are willing to open an account outside of EU, HSBC expat is offering very good interest on fixed-term deposits.

You can also open a HSBC UK account remotely, and the bank is connected to SEPA.

 

[JohnLocke]

Jbb1 said:
You can also open a HSBC UK account remotely, and the bank is connected to SEPA.
Click to expand...

How can you do that? That would surprise me if it is possible without personal visit. Do you mean for UK resident people only or for foreigners too ?

Toggle signature

>> Unlock the Power of OffshoreCorpTalk: Become a Member of the Mentor Group Gold <<​

Latest Video Interviews, Offshore Company Resources, Payment Processing Tips & Tricks, Articles and Anonymity Hints only a click away!
Support the Freedom of Speech of our Community

Disclaimer: Nothing I say should be taken as tax, legal or financial advice. Anything I say is for general informational purposes only. Always seek independent professional advice.​

 

[Clank]

JohnLocke said:
How can you do that? That would surprise me if it is possible without personal visit. Do you mean for UK resident people only or for foreigners too ?
Click to expand...

You can open a HSBC UK bank account remotely if you are already a premier customer.

I have an HSBC UAE Premier account and I was able to open remotely an account in the UK and SG in just 3 days.

Non-EU resident and no visit to the UK was needed, all online.

The SG account was opened instantly through the phone app and later they asked you for some documentation. But the account was usable instantly.

Last edited: Sep 28, 2023

 

[Paul Tudor Jones]

4% APY isn't awesome when you can buy treasuries and make 5.25% risk free, without having to lock your money in a time deposit.

When you put/deposit your money in a bank all you're doing is letting your bank gamble (=loan your money to strangers), giving you nothing in return. Why do that?

It's much better to open a broker account and buy EUR money-market fund or some liquidity ETF which pays you better (even higher than your 4% on USD) and even in the worst scenario that the broker/bank goes under you're protected because your bonds/equities are segregated away from bank assets.

You can open in almost any brokerage since your residency/citizenship is low risk: Saxo, IB, Degiro, and there are dozens more options but they are all about the same.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Sols said:
The identity-crise-ridden bank BluOr Bank (its third or fourth name within the last 15 years) accepts online applications and doesn't have any noteworthy minimum requirements last I checked.
Click to expand...

don't go anywhere close to them. You will lose your money.

Toggle signature

@JohnnyDoe ”“ Your #1 Source for Guidance in Different Offshore Fields​

 

[Maitrey]

reelay said:
Need to diversify. Looking to park 6 figure number in a low-fee AAA bank (Poilsh citizen & resident) previous USA resident

Current savings are in USD parked in the USA bank at 4% APY. (which is awesome, however I'm worried that I'm not a resident there anymore and can't really keep it like that)

No need debit card. No need transfer or recieve funds from 3rd parties or customers.

Looking for cheap banking fees to park cash for future real estate purchases. Looking to add an additional $20-30K a year to that bank.

Please, preferably no bank in Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, UK : fees too expansive.

Thoughts on Andorra? Mora Banc Grup? Any other options, in Germany, Holland, Sweden?

Willing to travel to the country to open it.

Thanks for any advice
Click to expand...

Please advise what a problem to open an account in Polish bank? Any of them if you will park 100k will give you a premium account with zero fees till you will have more than +/- 45k USD/EUR on your account.

 

[Martin Everson]

Paul Tudor Jones said:
It's much better to open a broker account and buy EUR money-market fund or some liquidity ETF which pays you better (even higher than your 4% on USD) and even in the worst scenario that the broker/bank goes under you're protected because your bonds/equities are segregated away from bank assets.

You can open in almost any brokerage since your residency/citizenship is low risk: Saxo, IB, Degiro, and there are dozens more options but they are all about the same.
Click to expand...

You can get all that with Wise account now 😉.

USD 5.09%
GBP 4.87%
EUR 3.42%

https://wise.com/gb/interest/
They just park your money in below Blackrock MM Funds.

https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-gb/products/250972/blackrock-ics-us-treasury-premier-acc-fund
https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-g...k-ics-sterling-gov-liquidity-premier-acc-fund
https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-g...ck-ics-euro-gov-liquidity-premier-acc-t0-fund

Toggle signature
Please note my posts should not be taken as financial or tax advice. Please seek professional advice in that respect.

 

[reelay]

Sols said:
Andorran banks want at least 500,000-1,000,000 EUR minimum deposit. It used to be possible with 100,000 but that doesn't cut it anymore, AFAIK. If it does, it might be on condition that you reach a higher sum within a period of time.


Germany: N26, maybe DKB.
Netherlands: Bunq.
Sweden: Intergiro (EMI, not a bank).

As for traditional banks, you can ask around but it's going to be difficult, especially if you can't provide a good reason for banking there. Banks don't make much money on just having a five-figure sum sitting there.

If you look at Nordic banks, they might open to non-residents. But they want six or seven figure deposits, and they'll place you with their subsidiaries somewhere else (for example Luxembourg).

Banca di San Marino (BSM - Banca di San Marino: servizi bancari per privati e aziende | BSM - Banca di San Marino) is or at least has historically been quite easy to open an account with as a non-resident if you're EU citizen/resident. Reasonable fees.

Swissquote has very low (if any?) fees for transactional banking. Just make sure you only conduct first-party transfers (i.e. to/from your own accounts at other banks). Flow Bank is another, similar option.

The identity-crise-ridden bank BluOr Bank (its third or fourth name within the last 15 years) accepts online applications and doesn't have any noteworthy minimum requirements last I checked.

Mano.Bank in Lithuania is still young but licensed as a bank (special banking license).

Have you considered non-European options? In Mauritius, you would qualify as a wealthy client with some banks (such as AfrAsia, Bank One, ABSA). Transacting in and out isn't as fast and cheap as SEPA, but it's pretty fast and cheap for being SWIFT.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendations!

Swissquote looks interesting, are they solid? Seem like a combination of trading platform offering banking solutions?

I also saw a CIM Banque in Switzerland but has crazy fees...

Perhaps I'm trying to find a unicorn that doesn't exist

Maitrey said:
Please advise what a problem to open an account in Polish bank? Any of them if you will park 100k will give you a premium account with zero fees till you will have more than +/- 45k USD/EUR on your account.
Click to expand...

I thought about it, however, I'm moving to Panama next year, so didn't want to have any ties with Poland. But I'm open-minded for suggestions

Last edited: Sep 28, 2023

 

[reelay]

Martin Everson said:
You can get all that with Wise account now 😉.

USD 5.09%
GBP 4.87%
EUR 3.42%

https://wise.com/gb/interest/
They just park your money in below Blackrock MM Funds.

https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-gb/products/250972/blackrock-ics-us-treasury-premier-acc-fund
https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-g...k-ics-sterling-gov-liquidity-premier-acc-fund
https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-g...ck-ics-euro-gov-liquidity-premier-acc-t0-fund
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm not feeling too secure and comfortable with keeping $100K in Wise account even tho their rates seem pretty good but the risk is not worth it.


Looking for traditional banks, non-fintech

 

[jafo]

JohnnyDoe said:
don't go anywhere close to them. You will lose your money.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I was just going to ask about fund safety. You beat me to it. 😉

 

[Sols]

reelay said:
Swissquote looks interesting, are they solid? Seem like a combination of trading platform offering banking solutions?
Click to expand...

You can see for yourself: Swissquote's Reporting: Financial Reports and Presentations | Swissquote

Profitable for at least the last six years. They are sitting on over 9 billion CHF in deposits, a number which has been growing steadily year on year.

Toggle signature
This is the probably the answer to your question.

 

[Don]

Martin Everson said:
You can get all that with Wise account now 😉.

USD 5.09%
GBP 4.87%
EUR 3.42%

https://wise.com/gb/interest/
They just park your money in below Blackrock MM Funds.

https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-gb/products/250972/blackrock-ics-us-treasury-premier-acc-fund
https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-g...k-ics-sterling-gov-liquidity-premier-acc-fund
https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-g...ck-ics-euro-gov-liquidity-premier-acc-t0-fund
Click to expand...

You can also invest directly into the same funds and earn even more. I believe Lightyear broker provides this option.
Don't forget Wise also withholds 30% income tax on cashback.

 

[reelay]

Sols said:
You can see for yourself: Swissquote's Reporting: Financial Reports and Presentations | Swissquote

Profitable for at least the last six years. They are sitting on over 9 billion CHF in deposits, a number which has been growing steadily year on year.
Click to expand...

Will check it out, thanks!

 

[Martin Everson]

Don said:
Don't forget Wise also withholds 30% income tax on cashback.
Click to expand...

Yes they do as thats Belgium for you when it comes to account interest. However are you saying they apply withholding tax on a non-distributing Ireland fund...lol?

Toggle signature
Please note my posts should not be taken as financial or tax advice. Please seek professional advice in that respect.

 

[Don]

Martin Everson said:
Yes they do as thats Belgium for you when it comes to account interest. However are you saying they apply withholding tax on a non-distributing Ireland fund...lol?
Click to expand...

I meant account interest.

Martin Everson said:
You can get all that with Wise account now 😉.

USD 5.09%
GBP 4.87%
EUR 3.42%

https://wise.com/gb/interest/
They just park your money in below Blackrock MM Funds.

https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-gb/products/250972/blackrock-ics-us-treasury-premier-acc-fund
https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-g...k-ics-sterling-gov-liquidity-premier-acc-fund
https://www.blackrock.com/cash/en-g...ck-ics-euro-gov-liquidity-premier-acc-t0-fund
Click to expand...

It just looks like they are taking their cut, which is more than a regular broker, i think its 0.3-0.5 depending on currency. With USD you're supposed to get 5.54% I believe