Thread: Opening a euro bank account in Panama

Greetings.
If you were to open a personal Panama bank account (non US person, account denominated in euros) which bank would you choose and why?

I am curious about the answer, too , but not in euros ,in dollars ( I mean the account , not the answer ) . And what requirements do they have ? Or at least , the name of some Panama good reputation banks so I could search this up on the net .Thank you .

I know that euro accounts are available at Banco Uno and Cutzcutlan Bank; there are probably many others.

To open a bank account in Panama, a foreigner (non-Panama citizen) needs two letters of reference from financial institutions in his home country, two letters of reference from professionals in Panama (typically a lawyer and real estate or insurance agent), and his passport. Commercial/corporate accounts also require two years of tax returns.

Now, the above is the standard at most banks. However, many bank reps are uninformed, and occasionally have their own rules. E.g., when I went to open an account at Banco General, the woman at the branch I chose told me I also need to give them a copy of the purchase agreement and title for property I had purchased in Panama. According to Banco General, she was wrong, but rather than argue, I just went next door to Multibank.

Many thanks , soltero . It seem quite difficult to have a bank account in Panama if you're a foreigner and I really don't understand why , their best interest should be to have more clients, not to reject them .
In Europe I could have an account in other country than where I live and I needed only the passport , they didn't care about anything else.

Panama is very concerned, justifiably, about money laundering -- that's why the restrictions are tough. If you do a large deposit (more than US$10K), they may ask you to document where it came from.

It's very different from the US, where you can walk into a bank with $20 and any piece of ID that has your address on it and open an account. Also, you'll find banks here are not so marketing-driven. Savings account interest rates are low. Interest-paying checking accounts are unheard of. There are fees for everything, set by the government. E.g., you have to pay for receiving paper statements, unless you have a post office box in Panama. You have to pay for incoming wire transfers. And you have to wait up to 15 business days for deposited foreign funds to clear (which is nuts, because in this day and age they have access to your money in 24 hours).

It is mostly due to pressure being put on Panama by America, Canada and European countries, to try and find tax evaders, and to make it harder for them... {Since Panama is know as a tax haven}They {The West}are the ones who put these rules onto Panama after 911...They say it's for terrosits and money laundering but we all know better.....

Originally Posted by soltero

Panama is very concerned, justifiably, about money laundering -- that's why the restrictions are tough. If you do a large deposit (more than US$10K), they may ask you to document where it came from.

soltero , I would not travel with that much cash on me and put in a Panama bank , that amount I would rather have transfered from my bank account opened in my country to a Panama bank and in this case I don't see why they should have a problem.
Money laundering concern should arise when someone may have a huge amount of cash money and wants to deposit them at once.

How are you going to transfer it from your home country bank? Remember, incoming wires to Panama cost money. (Roughly 1%, but it's actually a sliding scale.) And if you write a check, it can be as long as a month before the Panama bank will let you use it. Look, I'm not suggesting you travel with a wad of cash -- I was merely trying to help you pre-plan for some of the idiosyncrasies of Panama banks.

As far as Bel-Air's comment: Actually, the rules were established well before 9/11, but yes, the tax guys were responsible for much of the pressure. That is one reason I would never choose a bank in Panama with a US affiliation; I'd choose a Panama-owned bank, because they don't force you to sign a W-9.

What is the best way to transfer money to Panama then? I was gonna wire mine over but had no idea it was gonna cost me 1%? Is it really that much? How about if I wrote a check from my bank back home to the Panama bank, it would not cost me anything then would it?

I think they would not ask you were you got your money if it came from another bank, that is what the bank refernesces are for I thought. I think it is just for cash over $10,000, but then it is the same all over the world really...

OK, I lied (a little) about the 1%; it depends on the amount. This (below) is what my bank told me re: wires, and I'm 99% sure the fee schedule is set by the government, not the banks:

The cost for international wire transfers are described below:

* From US$. 0.00 to US$ 10,000 1/4%, minimum fee US$ 12.50
* From US$ 10,000.01 to 50,000 1/8%, minimum fee US$ 25.00
* More than US$ 50,000.01 1/16%, minimum fee US$ 62.50, maximum fee US$500.00

Besides these charges there are permanent fees that will be included on each wire transfer:

* SWIFT fee (only for sent wire transfers) US$ 20.00
* Compliance fee (only for sent wire transfers) US$ 5.00

How about if I wrote a check from my bank back home to the Panama bank, it would not cost me anything then would it?

No, but as I said before, they will make you wait 15 business days before they'll let you access the money.

I think they would not ask you were you got your money if it came from another bank, that is what the bank refernesces are for I thought.

No, they will ask. When I wired a large sum from my US brokerage account (for my apartment purchase), I had to give the Panama bank a letter from the US brokerage attesting to my good standing, and a copy of my purchase agreement for the apartment. Even then, they freaked out because I wanted to wire about $2K more than the amount shown on the purchase agreement; they couldn't understand the difference.

Originally Posted by soltero

No, but as I said before, they will make you wait 15 business days before they'll let you access the money.

No, they will ask. When I wired a large sum from my US brokerage account (for my apartment purchase), I had to give the Panama bank a letter from the US brokerage attesting to my good standing, and a copy of my purchase agreement for the apartment. Even then, they freaked out because I wanted to wire about $2K more than the amount shown on the purchase agreement; they couldn't understand the difference.

I just want to send my money over, and am not buying anything, why would they freak out on that I wonder if it comes from my home bank, and I have bank references from that bank? Don't they want the buissness? Is the USA and the west putting that much pressure on them?

What about brokerages? I wanted to transfer stocks from my brokerage here to a brokerage in Panama without selling them, how does that work? Is it easier just to bring my stock certificate to the broker from my home country to Panama or is this not allowed? Anyone try or know about these questions?

Thank to anyone that can help me.

See http://www.panamaforum.com/panama-ba...ms-panama.html (Stock Brokerage Firms In Panama)
...and contact one of the brokerages to answer your questions.

It's none of my business, of course, but I question why anyone would want to do this. I don't know your home country (and its stability), but most ex-pats here keep the bulk of their financial assets in their home country, for a variety of reasons.

Re: Your other (repeated) questions: It's always a mistake to try to apply logic to the way things are done in Panama. I can't possibly divine the reasons and background for Panama banking practices; I can only tell you the current reality, from my own experience with three different banks (and lots of stories from other ex-pats).

Here is a good Reason to keep your money in the USA.... Were I have several accounts.. I believe that there will be massive bank failures in the USA in the next three years, and there will not be enough insurance to cover even 5% of it....

www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bank-failures-surge-credit-crunch/story.aspx?guid=%7B2FCA4A0C%2D227D%2D48FE%2DB42C%2 D8DDF75D838DA%7D


It used to be a strength to be in the dollar for Panama compared to the rest of latin america due to there high inflation due to smaller curriences falling. But the dollar may be the riskiest currency now out there.... It pays to not keep all your eggs in one basket....

Best to spead risk over several countries, and also several curriences..... Buying assets is also good. Time will tell, but best to be safe than sorry.... I sure the people in Argentina a few years back would wished they did, or in Germany in the beggining of this century... Or countless other examples...

Thanks guys, I will give it a try with Banco Uno and Cutzcutlan Bank when I'm back in Panama next month.

I won't put all my assets there, just to diversify a little bit and maybe to invest some money in Central America in the future.

I don't think a large number of USA banks can fail nowadays because the USA's Federal Reserve Bank will rescue them out. If it did happen we'd all %&##$& anyway and there would be bank failures all over the world. So I don't think it's going to happen.

Just curiously, why do you feel this way?

Not to offend you Mr., but your questions sounds like a chat bot!

The Federal Reserve Bank rescued Bear Stearns from sure collapse and adds a lot of dollars to the money supply each month. A bank can't fail if it has enough money. Soon enough there will be a lot of inflation but it will be blamed on evil traders and speculators, not The Federal Reserve Bank. That's why I believe the banking system is safe.

As far as I know Panama has no Central Bank or "lender of last resort". Panama banks must be much more careful and can't take so many risks because there is nobody to bail them out.

Not to offend you Advanced but you sound like a recap of "FOX NEWS"

Coming from you, I will take it as a compliment.

Can we now be friends???

I am trying HSBC. They have banks worldwide. I opened an account in the UK and for £100 they will sort out the account in Panama for me. I imagine there will be some problems though. My solicitor informed me I may need to go to Panama for some sort of interview at the bank. But I am hoping that with the money I will be putting into HSBC in the UK that they will have some sort of influence over how things proceed.

It cannot hurt. Anything you can use to help the process is recommended.

So, for £100, what exactly are you gaining? If you are coming to Panama, you could do it all for free.

i would rather have it all set up in advance of my arrival in panama.

OK, let us know if it works -- you'll be the first. :-)

(I still think you'd be wise to bring two letters of reference from banks in the UK; Panama banks like to see originals, not faxes or copies.)

Well, my lawyer has told me that i will still need an interview. But yes, we'll see. If I have to go there to sort it out, I wont have to pay the £100 anyway :-)

Interview? Not really. You will just need everything I outlined in post #3 in this thread.

I will wait and see what happens. Different people saying different things and no frame of reference upon which to make an informed judgement. But thanks for the info and advice. I'll know what the case is when I am told what is required. First stumbling block is I have only been with HSBC for about 6 weeks, and the stipulation is normally 6 months. But, the international division of HSBC said we will cross that bridge when we come to it. After all, it is all HSBC. I'll let everyone know what happens. if it works out, it might be some help to other people who come here looking for answers in the future. But I'll describe what happens and what is required for HSBC in any case.

I really look forward to the results because I too want to get a "track record" with some bank which operates both here in Canada and in Panama. I couldn't find information regarding the Scotia bank which is a Canadian bank and which operates extensively throughout the Caribbean. Does anyone know if they operate private banking in Panama?