Author Topic: Where to put the money (out of Spain)?  (Read 1592 times)

JuanFr

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Where to put the money (out of Spain)?
« on: October 29, 2018, 11:32:50 AM »
Hi guys,

I live in Spain and would like to know your opinion about a topic.

As you know, we are repeating the same errors that brought us to the financial crisis in 2008.

People are investing again in real estate and inflating a bubble that is due to explode in the next few years (if not less).

I'm a bit afraid about the consequences of that and would like to protect my wealth.

I have part of my money in a savings account and about 20% invested in Bitcoin.
Some experts recommend opening a bank account outside Europe: in USA or Asia.

I was searching "biggest US banks" and found this site: https://bankingonlinelogin.com/
On the right side, you can see a list with the banks.

In which one would you recommend me to open an account and transfer some of my $$?

Thanks a lot for your help!
J.

MrSal

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Re: Where to put the money (out of Spain)?
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2018, 12:04:11 PM »
My mother is in Portugal and she is doing the same. I live in the US so it is a bit easier for her. She opened a joint account with me in one of the banks in town. FDIC protection is much higher here than in Portugal and or Spain - in Portugal is 100K per institution while here in the US it's 250k per account type per holder, so in essence, our joint account is covered up to 500K, however, if we open a savings account (which is a different type of account) we get another 500K of insurance.

US Banks are stringent in opening accounts from afar due to AML policies. If you want to open an account it's usually easier if you are present in a branch. I have had less problems with smaller banks in opening accounts than big banks - usually smaller banks are more flexible while super big banks if something is out of conformity is a no.

Banks around college towns seem to also be easier - most employees are familiar with opening accounts to foreign non residents - mostly because of exchange students at colleges.

JuanFr

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Re: Where to put the money (out of Spain)?
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2018, 05:22:02 AM »
Hi MrSal,

thanks for the great tips! I liked that about banks near colleges :)
I will think better about it.

Thanks!

merula

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Re: Where to put the money (out of Spain)?
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2018, 08:52:43 AM »
CaixaBank? :) (Sorry, bad joke.)

I don't think you really gain anything from having an account at a non-EU bank that can't be more easily attained by having the right investments at an EU investment house. Unless you're worried about a financial services collapse, and let me tell you, the US is much more exposed to that than the EU given the lack of regulation.

For example, it looks like Fidelity (a US investment firm) has operations in Spain and offers low-cost index funds: https://www.fondosfidelity.es/fondos/precios-y-rentabilidad-de-fondos-indexados. You can probably find similar things through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with any brokerage. You can use this to invest in the US S&P 500 or in Asian securities without the hassle of opening a foreign account. The problem would be if you wanted your assets in bonds or something else. Though there are plenty of US bond ETFs.

Best of luck!

 

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