The theme of these posts has changed over the years to increasingly include banks that might not qualify as offshore. This year, I will divide the lists into three categories.
The first category, Best Banks 2016, lists the banks that I have had the most positive experiences with during 2016 (based on relationships going back many, many years). It’s often very challenging to open accounts with these banks as a non-resident or international business. Not impossible; but you need a very good, legitimate business case and/or show significant capital.
The next category, Best Offshore Banks 2016, is banks which many offshore service providers work with and with which it is relatively easy to open an account. These banks are more attainable to the average reader of STREBER Weekly. The drawback is that the quality of the bank may not always reach the same levels as the first category.
Lastly, I felt it’s about time to start looking at Digital Banks, many of whom aren’t technically banks since they don’t hold a banking license. They are instead using more lenient licenses, which limits their service offering somewhat but they still fill a purpose and continue to grow in popularity.
As always, these lists do not take into account financial stability nor should the lists be considered recommendations. This is entirely and solely based on my own experiences; nothing else.
Best Banks 2016
- Butterfield
- Crèdit Andorrà
- LGT
- SEB
- UBS
Butterfield
Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Guernsey, Switzerland | http://www.butterfieldgroup.com/
Headquartered in Bermuda and with a history going back to the 1850s, Butterfield is one of the finest banks in the Atlantic-Caribbean region.
The bank is present also in the Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, Guernsey, and Switzerland. Services vary and those looking to open an international business account with Butterfield will likely have their account domiciled in Bermuda or Cayman Islands, as other locations are mostly focused on private banking or mortgages/lending.
The Bahamas branch is almost entirely dedicated to trusts.
The bank is winding down its UK presence, which never gained enough momentum against other private banks in the UK.
Butterfield has a strong range of products and is doing a pretty good job keeping up to speed with the industry leaders. The bank doesn’t handle EUR very well, which can be a big hurdle for European-focused businesses. However, if EUR isn’t an important currency to you, the bank can be a very strong candidate.
Generally speaking, account opening is pretty tricky with Butterfield. Unless you are a business incorporated in Bermuda or Cayman Islands, they don’t take on a lot of non-HNWI non-residents. A strong intermediary is nearly always required.
Crèdit Andorrà
Andorra, Panama | https://www.creditandorragroup.com/
While Andbank is taking great strides to be the best bank in Andorra and time will tell what comes of Vall Banc (the bank being formed from the ashes of BPA), Crèdit Andorrà stands strong as the local leader in my eyes.
With a recently updated internet banking and increased number of English-speaking staff, the bank remains one of my absolute favourites. Opening accounts for local residents and local companies is a breeze, and non-resident clients are generally welcome with a relatively low minimum deposit of 50 – 100,000 EUR for private banking.
Private banking clients are sometimes domiciled in Panama (by request or decision by the bank). Trust and foundation arrangements are well understood by the bank.
LGT
Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, others | https://www.lgt.com/
A purebred private bank (all they do is private banking and asset management) owned by the Liechtenstein royal family, LGT is very good at what they do.
Minimum deposit for non-residents is usually one million CHF/EUR, although sums as low as 100,000 CHF/EUR will sometimes work. Residents can get away with much less.
Unlike many private banks, credit cards are available, including premium cards and cards in other currencies (EUR and USD).
SEB
Northern Europe, others | https://sebgroup.com/
SEB has lately become very strict on requiring that corporate clients be local businesses or businesses with some form of attachment to the jurisdiction. Incorporation does for the time being seem to be enough, which is good news for those interested in forming for example an Estonian company.
Doing business in the Nordics and Baltics, SEB is a very good partner to have. With one simple and secure login, you can manage finances of different but related legal entities (group companies) across jurisdictions. Moving funds across borders is quick.
SEB’s user management is among the best in the entire banking industry. You can set very finely tuned rules for who can do or see what within your organization.
Cards are available in SEK and EUR across the different jurisdictions.
Their UK branch is undergoing a policy revision at the moment, which should hopefully terminate in SEB UK being more open to international business than other banks.
Wealth management and private banking are available to residents worldwide with relatively low barrier to entry (around 500,000 to 1 million SEK). I generally prefer LGT and UBS (and some other banks) over SEB for private banking, though; at least for non-Scandinavian clients.
UBS
Switzerland, Liechtenstein, others | https://www.ubs.com/
This year, the best of the best. Whether it’s been private banking, personal banking, or business banking, UBS has stood strong. They have practically everything you could wish for from a bank, and it’s executed beautifully.
They can be a little difficult when it comes to non-resident businesses, often requiring a strong connection to Switzerland. Leniency increases as the risk profile of the business candidate decreases and its revenue goes up.
For local businesses and residents, they are splendid. I put them ahead of Credit Suisse on most fronts.
Best Offshore Banks 2016
- DBS
- MCB
- OCBC
- SBM
- Standard Bank (Stanbic)
DBS
Singapore, Hong Kong, China, others | https://www.dbs.com/
DBS is one of the finest banks in the world today. They could easily shut down applications for offshore companies and still make it the top-10 (maybe top-5) in the previous category. Fortunately for founders and finance officers at international and offshore businesses, DBS is still open for business.
You’ll need an intermediary in most cases, though. The due diligence process is standardized and streamlined, which usually makes for a pretty smooth on-boarding process for legitimate clients.
Minimum deposit varies depending on jurisdiction and services required, but expect to have to show at least 10,000 SGD or 100,000 HKD.
While some customer service representatives don’t always speak the best English, I have always found them very willing and capable to help.
DBS does all three big pillars of banking very well: personal, business, and private banking.
MCB (Mauritius Commercial Bank)
Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives | http://www.mcbgroup.com/
MCB is both the oldest and largest bank in Mauritius and has successfully expanded into Seychelles, Maldives, Madagascar, and Mozambique.
The bank has been a pillar in the offshore industry for decades, which means the bank is accustomed to all sorts of jurisdictions and understands offshore business very well.
Account opening nowadays almost always require an intermediary (at times, personal accounts can be opened for non-residents directly with the bank). Following a recent tightening of internal policies, many intermediaries have been relegated to personal accounts only. It’s possible to move from a personal to a business account after some period with the bank.
Service quality is generally high and there is a fairly sophisticated range of services available.
OCBC
Singapore, Hong Kong, others | http://www.ocbc.com/
This includes OCBC Wing Lung (Hong Kong) and Bank of Singapore (private banking only). The bank also runs a popular brokerage called iOCBC.
Just like DBS, OCBC would easily fit in the first category. In terms of quality, sophistication, and all-round pleasantness to work with, OCBC is up there with UBS and the rest. What distinguishes OCBC from them is that account opening is much more relaxed. A relatively high minimum deposit of 30,000 SGD keeps most small fish (often unprofitable clients) away and a competent compliance team, well versed in offshore companies thanks to the bank’s long-standing acceptance of international business clients, together keep the bank clean.
Account opening requires a personal visit in practically all cases. Exceptions effectively limited to private banking client (often providing an off-site meeting with the client) or special situations with extremely qualified introducers.
SBM (State Bank of Mauritius)
Mauritius | https://www.sbmgroup.mu/
The, for better or worse, government-owned State Bank of Mauritius has a very colourful history, jumping on the online-gambling train right when it started in the 1990s and processing millions upon millions in sketchy payments.
Times have changed and so has the bank, on the surface at least.
Like MCB, SBM has been involved in offshore banking and corporate services for decades. Unlike a compliance officer at your average European bank, a compliance officer with SBM can spot a fake certificate of incorporation from the Seychelles right away. This confidence helps boost the banks’ ability to take on IBCs and other offshore companies.
I generally find MCB to have a more modern feel and experience. SBM’s internet banking is looking very dated. But aside from that, it’s still a rock solid bank to work with.
Opening an account with SBM is pretty straightforward. Intermediary is usually required.
Standard Bank (Stanbic)
Isle of Man, Jersey, Africa, worldwide | http://www.standardbank.com/
While many readers, who are not familiar with banking in Africa, associate Standard Bank with Isle of Man only, it is in fact the third African bank on this top-5 list, having its headquarters in South Africa and being the by far wealthiest bank in Africa. In 2016, Standard Bank itself sold most of its non-African operations have now been sold to ICBC.
Most offshore companies that open an account with Standard Bank have their accounts domiciled in Isle of Man. It is possible to transfer relationships across jurisdictions provided there is good justification for it.
With a relatively modest minimum deposit of 6,000 GBP/EUR, opening a bank account with Standard Bank in Isle of Man or Jersey can be one of the smoothest ways for an offshore business to bank with a large international bank in Europe or Africa.
For trading within Africa, banking with Standard Bank can make managing your business’ finances much easier. Its reach is greater than any other African bank.
Top Fintech Banks/Quasi-Banks (Digital Banks)
- LeuPay
- N26
- Paysera
LeuPay
Malta/Bulgaria | https://www.leupay.eu/
This Malta-based quasi-bank is closely affiliated with the up-and-coming Maltese bank Satabank. There are strong ties to Bulgaria through ownership, staff, and management, hence being listed here as Malta/Bulgaria.
Stable services, attractive fees for EUR/Eurozone payments, wide range of currencies, and relatively easy-going account opening make up for the rather poor customer service that plagues LeuPay.
It’s worth noting that LeuPay recently stopped processing USD.
Minor negative that cards often are issued under a Bulgarian BIN. Some website’s fraud checks won’t like it that your card is issued there. The IBAN is Maltese, using a SWIFT BIC supplied by Satabank.
N26
Germany | https://n26.com
The hipness of N26 is starting to wear off and we are seeing the bank (one of few of these to actually have a banking license) mature. The long-term strategic vision of N26 may be blurry at best but it’s present state it nothing to sneeze at.
A rock-solid mobile app and increased availability across the EU/EEA, the future does look pretty bright for N26.
N26 is useless for business, though. Arguably useful for personal banking for residents in the right countries.
Cards are issued under a German BIN and the IBANs are German as well.
Paysera
Lithuania | https://www.paysera.com
By and large the same service as LeuPay, although this time in the form of a more established Lithuanian outfit. They are largely riding on SEB’s platform, which happens to be a very good one.
Account opening is a breeze, both personal and corporate. Offshore companies require some additional work but European business accounts are approved practically same day provided you supply the right docs. I’ve seen UK companies approved in a matter of hours.
Low limit on the card, which is issued under a UK BIN. IBANs are Lithuanian and the SWIFT BIC is Paysera’s own.
Banking in 2016 in Review
2016 has seen banks prepare for AEOI, CSR, FATCA, and other acronyms and initialisms related to the automatic reporting of bank accounts. Some will say banking secrecy is dead. As you know, the reality of secrecy is more complicated than that.
One upside of this increased transparency is that I’m finding it increasingly easy to place clients with banks since much of the secrecy stigma is going away. The barriers to entry have gone up slightly and we’ll likely see a divide being grown where some banks move towards more and more exclusivity and others are lowering theirs thanks to automation on compliance.
The lines between offshore banking and regular banking are beginning to blur.
Readers who expect me to be some cloak-and-dagger figure hiding people’s money in remote locations are often surprised (and more than once angry and hostile) with me when I voice a positive attitude towards AEOI.
For me, AEOI is good business. As mentioned, it makes it easier to place clients with banks. Furthermore, it means that structures to avoid exchange of information are require even more finesse and complexity to remain within the confines of the laws and regulations, which is both more fun and challenging to arrange while obviously also being more lucrative.
In other developments, one of the most exciting things to come out of recent regulatory changes in mainly EU/EEA is the advent of digital banks (such as the aforementioned). These disruptors are using what is actually pretty mundane technology to beat stale, monolithic banks when it comes to customer acquisition and offering what feels like a faster, hipper banking experience.
Time will tell if these digital banks can compete long-term when it comes to the less cool aspects; i.e. service quality, sophistication, security, compliance, and ultimately sustainability. One thing seems to be for sure, though: they are changing people’s expectations of what (personal) banking is.
Hi STREBER:
Thank you for your good work. This the best blog and website with thorough information of this nature.
I happen to be from a first-world country but have strong ties and culture with South East Asia and Asia. Considering attending an MBA program but the ones in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, France, etc do not recruit for the type of banking your blog represents – world class international private banking.
It is understood that you are not recruiting and thus I will not ask for a job. But where could one go to look for a career in this line of work and receive best-in-class training ?
Which MBA programs would be good for this sort of thing?
Which investment companies, offshore providers, and banks would be good to work with?
Which jurisdictions would be best to work in?
Look forward to hearing back.
Rick James
Streber:
I’m a US citizen poker player looking for an offshore bank account that will do business with a gambler. I need a bank that will allow me to cashout directly from Pokerstars in USD currency (everything needs to be in USD). I would then wire the money from that new international bank account back to my US account. I used to use a bank in Malta (BOV) but the account was closed a few years back. I’m a higher net worth individual with perfect banking past and bank references. What banks do you recommend where I could open this account without having to visit the bank in person. All transactions will be at least 25k.
Key points = gambler, USD, open account remotely, will be dealing with amounts greater than 25k USD
Thank you for any advice or guidance
I’m sorry to disappoint but I can’t help you. As I try to make clear throughout the website, I don’t engage in personalized advice in any manner.
Dear readers,
My name is Marin Stoyanov and I work for LeuPay (https://www.leupay.eu). I want to thank Streber.st team for including our company in this interesting list. However, in the article there are several misleading facts that need to be noted regarding the service:
– iPay International Ltd. is the promoter of the product and is based and registered in the United Kingdom, not Bulgaria – https://goo.gl/yL1SxQ.
– Satabank is Maltese bank, not Bulgarian owned, as can be seen from the official Malta Financial Services Authority – http://www.mfsa.com.mt/pages/lh.aspx?id=9923)
– It is not true that our cards are issued strictly under a Bulgarian BIN. The BINs that we provide depends of the country of enrollment of our clients and we are constantly looking to add more BINs to our portfolio, so that our cards are better suited for each country.
You may also find it interesting, that we’ve also developed a digital wallet, called LeuPay Wallet (https://leupay.eu/wallet), which can be used separately or together with your LeuPay account. The digital wallet offers virtual card, NFC payments, send money by chat, linking other debit/credit card and many-many more services that are focused on resolving everyday personal needs.
If you have any questions regarding our services or the LeuPay platform, please do not hesitate to get in touch! I would be happy to answer all of your enquiries.
Hi Marinski,
Thanks for commenting! The comment was incorrectly flagged as spam but I have approved it now. Shouldn’t happen again, I hope.
– I have amended the mention of iPay (removed it).
– Satabank is certainly a Maltese company and one can argue what would constitute a company as being one nationality or another. Ultimately, though, Satabank is of Bulgarian origin and has various, strong ties to Bulgaria. But there are other parties involved as well, of course. As a compromise, I ended up listing Leupay as Malta/Bulgaria.
– It’s great to hear that you have other BINs. What BIN ranges do you have?
We offer Spanish, Czech, Italian, Polish BINs and many more.
FWIW as a Romaniaan customer they gave me a card which has a Romanian BIN (even though its not a RON card). Nice touch.
To save others the trouble: as per phone call with Leupay customer service yesterday (April 27, 2017), they do not accept corporate applications from outside the EU/EEA. Frustrating.
Hello Streber, first of all, thanks for your job!! Very interesting. Just a quick question for you: I have a trade registered in UAE and 2 business bank account ( Mashreq and ENBD) believe me, is impossible to work with them. It is impossible to work outside the classic wire transfer. When I propose differents way they look at me as the cow looks the train..I would like to be able to operate with MT103 manual or S2S or Target 2..do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks
I’m not sure I understand. Do you want to send the bank manual MT103 instructions? As I’m sure you know, TARGET2 is a settlement system for the Eurozone, so I’m also at a bit of a loss as to what you want to achieve there.
Are you able to do what you want with other banks?
Great, awesome to know you are back again!!! Merry Trump for us all!!!! Will you keep the regular weekly news???
Thanks, it’s good to be back! I don’t think it’ll be weekly again for a while. One reason it was weekly before was I was often a few weeks ahead of schedule; now I have to start over again in a way. Might try for bi-weekly right now and see how that goes.
Happy New Year, Streber!
As we move towards a world of AEOI, I’m sure a lot of people will consider relocating to friendlier shores, but depending on the country, perhaps that could create new problems when wanting to start new banking relationships. Have you experienced trouble with OCBC or DBS Singapore when dealing with beneficial owners resident in Panama? I’d like to open an account for my BVI company there in order to diversify away from HK. Or should I consider elsewhere or consider using a Marshall Islands company instead?
Happy new year, Red Pill!
Recently, I have seen banks ask for more than the usual set of documents where the UBO or account holders are resident in certain jurisdictions (Panama, UAE, and other tax havens with easy-going residency schemes). For example, where a simple utility bill might have sufficed in the past, banks are starting to ask for entry stamp in passports, local ID card, deed/lease, or multiple proofs of address. It’s a bit of a headache, but as long as the client is actually resident in for example Panama, it’s always worked out in the end.
Jurisdiction of incorporation doesn’t have much bearing in this case. You’ll be asked the same questions whether your company is incorporated in BVI or Marshall Islands. For the region you’re looking to bank in, the difference between BVI and Marshall Islands isn’t as significant as it is elsewhere as both are pretty well-known with the banks.
I would totally avoid Andorra. With the exchange of information in Europa and many clients leaving the fee are skyrocketing and the service is not as good as before, even for clients who are not European.
For other “offices”, for example Mexico, Andbank and Credit Andorra do not bank there, they just have investment offices.
About Andorra, I would totally avoid the country now.
With the exchange of information in europa, many clients go away and the fee are just skyrocketing, even for non european clients and it’s very hard to negociate with them now.
Also note that, for Andbank and credit andorra the offices in Mexico are not “banks” but representation or investment offices.
Good to see another great article!
Thanks!
Great list! These are some high quality banks.
Which top 2 banks would you recommend to open a self managed trading account under a foreign business name? Criteria would be to access US markets as well as other international markets.
Short answer is unfortunately that I don’t trade very much personally so I wouldn’t be a good person to ask. I hear people speak well of Swissquote and Saxobank, but I’m not very attuned to that side of the business in general.
I try to make it clear that I unfortunately can’t recommend anything or anyone. To me, a recommendation is something I give someone after a thorough analysis of their particular needs and unique situation. Streber is a strictly non-commercial persona; all I do is just share my thoughts and experiences.
Understood. Thanks
A very useful article and it’s appreciated that you take time to update this list every year.
You mention about Credit Andorra that:
‘Private banking clients are sometimes domiciled in Panama (by request or decision by the bank).’
What are the benefits of this? I can see the Bank has presence not only in Panama but also Mexico and other Latin American countries, so why Panama of all places?
Does it have to do with CRS / or that those clients might have a residence permit in Panama despite holding another passport?
The benefit of Panama vs. Andorra comes down to personal preference or minute differences in regulations, and to some degree risk isolation. There are also certain types of investments or banking services that aren’t established or permitted in Andorra (or undesired, so as to not invoke the anger of European economies). Regulations and controls are more lax in Panama.
When it comes to asset protection and trusts or foundation structures, Panama has a more tested legal system than Andorra’s, which is largely theoretical due to the diminutive size of the jurisdiction. Some people simply feel more comfortable in Panama for that reason.
Panama has a more robust and developed banking sector than most of Latin America, which combined with secrecy has made it attractive. You could maybe find similar sophistication in Brazil or Mexico but then your banking activities are subject to the whim of politically and economically shaky Brazil or Mexico and their wobbly currencies, instead of the stability of Panama and its USD-based economy and currency.
As for exchange of information, Panama has signed up for CRS on a bilateral level which means there needs to be a TIEA or equivalent tax treaty in place for exchange of information to take place.