Life Savings In Two Thai Banks.

[Tony Clifton]

I know close to nothing about the world of finance.

Looking at the latest development with the global economy, the frequent news reports aren`t very reassuring, I m getting worried as we are soon moving abroad and my wife is suggesting leaving the savings here in two different bank accounts.

These days, would you trust a Canadian bank more than a Thai bank? ( I actually never did trust Thai banks the way I had to contort to simply open a basic savings account).

Far from being millionaires, my wife insists it should remain here as we would pay less taxes over in Canada and we would also benefit from higher child allowances from both federal and provincial governments.

Is it also worth risking leaving it here with the interest rates offered? The accounts are in her name here as she is the bread earner.

My gut feeling tells me we should take it all out and hold on to the cash here with the in-laws (who can be trusted and already have much more than they need and have much more than we do) and bring abroad what we are allowed to carry when flying in.

What do you think?

[Naam]

I know close to nothing about the world of finance.

Looking at the latest development with the global economy, the frequent news reports aren`t very reassuring, I m getting worried as we are soon moving abroad and my wife is suggesting leaving the savings here in two different bank accounts.

These days, would you trust a Canadian bank more than a Thai bank? ( I actually never did trust Thai banks the way I had to contort to simply open a basic savings account).

Far from being millionaires, my wife insists it should remain here as we would pay less taxes over in Canada and we would also benefit from higher child allowances from both federal and provincial governments.

Is it also worth risking leaving it here with the interest rates offered? The accounts are in her name here as she is the bread earner.

My gut feeling tells me we should take it all out and hold on to the cash here with the in-laws (who can be trusted and already have much more than they need and have much more than we do) and bring abroad what we are allowed to carry when flying in.

What do you think?

-life savings in Thailand after leaving the country? no

-cash out and "store" with in-laws? no

-leaving Thailand with a lot of cash? = problem

-solution = buy 24karat (NOT thai-gold and not too intricate workmanship!) and decorate neck, wrists and ankles of your Mrs

[LaoPo]

I know close to nothing about the world of finance.

Looking at the latest development with the global economy, the frequent news reports aren`t very reassuring, I m getting worried as we are soon moving abroad and my wife is suggesting leaving the savings here in two different bank accounts.

These days, would you trust a Canadian bank more than a Thai bank? ( I actually never did trust Thai banks the way I had to contort to simply open a basic savings account).

Far from being millionaires, my wife insists it should remain here as we would pay less taxes over in Canada and we would also benefit from higher child allowances from both federal and provincial governments.

Is it also worth risking leaving it here with the interest rates offered? The accounts are in her name here as she is the bread earner.

My gut feeling tells me we should take it all out and hold on to the cash here with the in-laws (who can be trusted and already have much more than they need and have much more than we do) and bring abroad what we are allowed to carry when flying in.

What do you think?

-life savings in Thailand after leaving the country? no

-cash out and "store" with in-laws? no

-leaving Thailand with a lot of cash? = problem

-solution = buy 24karat (NOT thai-gold and not too intricate workmanship!) and decorate neck, wrists and ankles of your Mrs

Second that; could add: Diamonds are 4ever, although I wouldn't buy diamonds in Thailand; but there might be other valuable 'stones'......from Burma ?

LaoPo

[Tony Clifton]

I won't go in too much detail but the in-laws have already made their money and would never rip us off.

One sister in law has even recently stepped forward and absorbed a 15 million baht dive herself where the whole family had made investments.

I'd be more worried about the location of the hidden pastry box.

[thaihome]

You do realize that Thailand has Deposit Insurance:

The new Deposit Protection Agency Act (DPA) formally takes effect on Aug 11, replacing the blanket guarantee on bank deposits that has been in place since the 1997 crisis. Bank deposits will be fully guaranteed for the first year, with protection curbed at 100 million baht per customer per institution in the second year. After five years, guarantees will be capped at one million baht per client.

Once you are setup in Canada, you can wire some of the money from Thailand to there, if you want to keep some nearby.

All this assumes you are only interested in passbook saving account returns. As you say yourself, you don't seem to know much about finance, maybe it is time to try and learn something.

TH

[SoCal]

The accounts are in her name here as she is the bread earner.

Kind of says it all to me. If she wants to leave the money in a Thai bank, then that should be her option.

[harrry]

[May be a case where you may open a Premier Acccount with HSBC and then a premium in Canada an Singapore and transfer between them as desired. A cheap way of putting off the decision.

[cloudhopper]

Lots of good advice so far on this thread. I personally would divide it up and do some of all of the above, not getting the impression that you were going to need any of it once you were back in Canada.

Naam - Never knew the 24k was available here - typically in what form?; in the big gold shops?

[malcolminthemiddle]

[May be a case where you may open a Premier Acccount with HSBC and then a premium in Canada an Singapore and transfer between them as desired. A cheap way of putting off the decision.

Secure, tax efficient offshore joint bank account accessible by internet and ATM world wide.

Number of accounts/banks/currencies depending on amount to deposit.

Leave sufficient funds say Baht 20,000 - 40,000 in Thai bank accounts to keep them active

[Naam]

Lots of good advice so far on this thread. I personally would divide it up and do some of all of the above, not getting the impression that you were going to need any of it once you were back in Canada.

Naam - Never knew the 24k was available here - typically in what form?; in the big gold shops?

in form of chains (necklaces, bracelets) with rather big and thick links. bought over the years several times in a small Pattaya goldshop. i did not suggest 24k goldbars because customs worldwide would consider them (unlike jewelry) a negotiable monetary instrument subject to import duties and in some countries import restrictions.

and now i'm waiting for some clownish experts to tell everybody that i'm wrong, that there is no such thing like 24k gold jewelry and that i just bullshÍtted my wife.

[Naam]

Lots of good advice so far on this thread. I personally would divide it up and do some of all of the above, not getting the impression that you were going to need any of it once you were back in Canada.

Naam - Never knew the 24k was available here - typically in what form?; in the big gold shops?

in form of chains (necklaces, bracelets) with rather big and thick links. bought over the years several times in a small Pattaya goldshop. i did not suggest 24k goldbars because customs worldwide would consider them (unlike jewelry) a negotiable monetary instrument subject to import duties and in some countries import restrictions.

and now i'm waiting for some clownish experts to tell everybody that i'm wrong, that there is no such thing like 24k gold jewelry and that i just bullshÍtted my wife.

Just want to say, that a coin like the Canadian maple leaf has a face value and can be used as legal tender, and as such customs will not charge duty or tax on them. Jing jing.

http://www.bordergold.com/index.php?option...1&Itemid=51

that might apply to canadian ports of entry but i wouldn't like to argue the case with a customs officer of any other country when carrying a few kilograms of gold coins another problem would be security check at Swampy when leaving Thailand and perhaps at any stopover airport we moved several times from/to different countries and of course my wife hand carried all her jewelry and never had a problem.

[OxfordWill]

yea, withdraw all the cash, buy a great big gold necklace and spend the next week sleeplessly worrying about where it is until you can sell it again in Canada.

[LaoPo]

You do realize that Thailand has Deposit Insurance:

The new Deposit Protection Agency Act (DPA) formally takes effect on Aug 11, replacing the blanket guarantee on bank deposits that has been in place since the 1997 crisis. Bank deposits will be fully guaranteed for the first year, with protection curbed at 100 million baht per customer per institution in the second year. After five years, guarantees will be capped at one million baht per client.

Thanks for that quote...but I think it's a very tricky quote (not your fault of course).

I think it is meant per BANK and not a(ny) client of a certain Bank; hard to believe that the Central Bank would guarantee 100 Million Baht (€ 2 Million) per customer per institution/bank...

In my (very rich) Western country EVERY client is insured to get his money back (in case the bank collapses) up till the first € 20,000 and above that € 18,000 of the second 20K; so in total -just- € 38K is insured; above that it is vague...but certainly NOT guaranteed by the Central Bank/Government.

I doubt Thailand can/will/is able to guarantee 100 Million Bahr PER client....

Anybody who knows more ?

LaoPo:..what a world

[Naam]

yea, withdraw all the cash, buy a great big gold necklace and spend the next week sleeplessly worrying about where it is until you can sell it again in Canada.

and your point is?

[Naam]

Its legal tender, meaning, well, it can be used as money in Canada. So carrying it is like carrying that countries currency, and you dont have to pay tax on a foreign countries currency. This was the main reason that the coins were minted into legal tender, to be able to transport them easily around the world with out having to pay tax and duty on them. Its a simple concept and I am sure that most immigration officials would know.

Vibe, your argumentation is flawed. i know several countries (amongst them India, Pakistan, Burma and Bangla Desh) which forbid the import of gold coins and their customs authorities care a shÍt whether they are canadian legal tender or not.

[Tony Clifton]

The accounts are in her name here as she is the bread earner.

Kind of says it all to me. If she wants to leave the money in a Thai bank, then that should be her option.

Husband at home must be a whole new concept to you. How about a foreigner dealing with Thai banks, seamless? Nope.

Anything financial ever done here was always in her name, from license plates to bank acounts.

She wants foreigners opinions as much as I do and knows nothing about the Canadian banking system.

==

Not interested in buying gold in Thai gold shops, trust them even less than Thai banks, (Maple Leafs are somewhat intersting)walking through airports and customs with those can also be a risk in my opinion. Add to that the fact the we re also declaring an entire container full of household items on arrival and carying computers with us, good chance we'll be checked.

LaoPo brings an interesting point with what he quoted about Thai banks blanket guarantee...

Gotta run for now, I ll try and get back online later on, not easy on this new dialup connection.

Edited September 20, 2008 by Tony Clifton

[Gary A]

If it were me, I'd go to each of my Thai banks and take half the balance to buy a bank check for Canadian dollars. I'd deposit those checks into my Canadian bank on arrival or if you do not have a Canadian bank, open a new account.

[egg6447]

and where would one get hold of these canadian coins in thailand.