Night of the Iguana: Old Fogies with young Thai Nubiles. Do they mix?

[newbepat]

I was just wondering are thai banks safe. : to deposit say 100K euros any advice?

[Soutpeel]

dam_n sight safer than US/European banks, considering what has happened over the last two years...LOL

Unless you intend to spend the money in Thailand, I would seriously consider putting it somewhere else say Singapore/ Hong Kong, less hassles moving cash in and out, and all banks speak good English, so no misunderstandings which can be the norm with Thai banks at times..

Thai banks are ok, but have a tendancy to have their heads up their ar*es at times

[newbepat]

dam_n sight safer than US/European banks, considering what has happened over the last two years...LOL

Unless you intend to spend the money in Thailand, I would seriously consider putting it somewhere else say Singapore/ Hong Kong, less hassles moving cash in and out, and all banks speak good English, so no misunderstandings which can be the norm with Thai banks at times..

Thai banks are ok, but have a tendancy to have their heads up their ar*es at times

But you would have to open a bank account in Singapore/Hong Kong is this easy just looking for a safe place for the moment

[Soutpeel]

dam_n sight safer than US/European banks, considering what has happened over the last two years...LOL

Unless you intend to spend the money in Thailand, I would seriously consider putting it somewhere else say Singapore/ Hong Kong, less hassles moving cash in and out, and all banks speak good English, so no misunderstandings which can be the norm with Thai banks at times..

Thai banks are ok, but have a tendancy to have their heads up their ar*es at times

But you would have to open a bank account in Singapore/Hong Kong is this easy just looking for a safe place for the moment

Yes you would have to open an account...Singapore with the international banks is easy, not sure about HK these days, havent had an account there in years..

I am with Citi International Personal banking and you can open the account on-line and just send a certifed copy of your P/P, depositing US$ 25k gets you fee free banking, customer service is excellent....but one word of caution...if you intend drawing cash out in Thailand with the Citi ATM card, you will get hit with the THB 150 withdrawal fee on the Thai end.

If you need to use some of the money in Thailand, you may want to consider an account in Thailand with a portion of your 100k for day to day expenses and keep the rest outside, and periodically transfer in top up amounts...

[pooket]

dam_n sight safer than US/European banks, considering what has happened over the last two years...LOL

Unless you intend to spend the money in Thailand, I would seriously consider putting it somewhere else say Singapore/ Hong Kong, less hassles moving cash in and out, and all banks speak good English, so no misunderstandings which can be the norm with Thai banks at times..

Thai banks are ok, but have a tendancy to have their heads up their ar*es at times

Singapore or Hong Kong!?! Why not just leave it at home? Why not put it in the First Galactal Bank of Uranus?

To answer the original poster's comments - I have never had a problem with Thai Banks. NEVER. No communication problems, no problems except KYC (which is probably everywhere in the world now).

[Soutpeel]

Singapore or Hong Kong!?! Why not just leave it at home? Why not put it in the First Galactal Bank of Uranus?

To answer the original poster's comments - I have never had a problem with Thai Banks. NEVER. No communication problems, no problems except KYC (which is probably everywhere in the world now).

May be the OP has his reasons for not leaving it in his home country bank, and seeing as the amount is in Euro's, European banks are not looking particularly rosey these days....I am not questioning his motives, just suggesting other options on SEA.

"First Galactal Bank of Uranus".....Why ?? are you a customer of said bank...

[newbepat]

Singapore or Hong Kong!?! Why not just leave it at home? Why not put it in the First Galactal Bank of Uranus?

To answer the original poster's comments - I have never had a problem with Thai Banks. NEVER. No communication problems, no problems except KYC (which is probably everywhere in the world now).

May be the OP has his reasons for not leaving it in his home country bank, and seeing as the amount is in Euro's, European banks are not looking particularly rosey these days....I am not questioning his motives, just suggesting other options on SEA.

"First Galactal Bank of Uranus".....Why ?? are you a customer of said bank...

Yes i do have an account in Thailand enough for my retirement visa, and i am worried about banks in my home country and the euro just dont think its as easy as that to open a bank account in Sinapour.

[NHJ]

keep your euro in europe, just don't put all your eggs in the same basket.

transfering euro now and you lose 15% of the usual value of euro versus baht.

[newbepat]

keep your euro in europe, just don't put all your eggs in the same basket.

transfering euro now and you lose 15% of the usual value of euro versus baht.

Yes a good point but i was thinking long term. Thanks

[newbepat]

dam_n sight safer than US/European banks, considering what has happened over the last two years...LOL

Unless you intend to spend the money in Thailand, I would seriously consider putting it somewhere else say Singapore/ Hong Kong, less hassles moving cash in and out, and all banks speak good English, so no misunderstandings which can be the norm with Thai banks at times..

Thai banks are ok, but have a tendancy to have their heads up their ar*es at times

Singapore or Hong Kong!?! Why not just leave it at home? Why not put it in the First Galactal Bank of Uranus?

To answer the original poster's comments - I have never had a problem with Thai Banks. NEVER. No communication problems, no problems except KYC (which is probably everywhere in the world now).

First Galactal Bank of Uranus is there such a bank never heard that bank sorry are u taking the mick or what?

[Naam]

Yes i do have an account in Thailand enough for my retirement visa, and i am worried about banks in my home country and the euro just dont think its as easy as that to open a bank account in Sinapour.

i can't comment on your home country because you did not mention it and if you are worried about the EUR you have to worry whereever you keep your 100k unless you are planning to convert into Baht. opening a bank account in Singapore is not difficult but most banks require that you turn up personally.

[newbepat]

Yes i do have an account in Thailand enough for my retirement visa, and i am worried about banks in my home country and the euro just dont think its as easy as that to open a bank account in Sinapour.

i can't comment on your home country because you did not mention it and if you are worried about the EUR you have to worry whereever you keep your 100k unless you are planning to convert into Baht. opening a bank account in Singapore is not difficult but most banks require that you turn up personally.

yes i was thinking of converting to another currency, so i would i have to travel to Singapour to open a bank account? then transfer funds by way of internet banking would that work?

[Naam]

Yes i do have an account in Thailand enough for my retirement visa, and i am worried about banks in my home country and the euro just dont think its as easy as that to open a bank account in Sinapour.

i can't comment on your home country because you did not mention it and if you are worried about the EUR you have to worry whereever you keep your 100k unless you are planning to convert into Baht. opening a bank account in Singapore is not difficult but most banks require that you turn up personally.

yes i was thinking of converting to another currency, so i would i have to travel to Singapour to open a bank account? then transfer funds by way of internet banking would that work?

of course it would work. but you won't be able to open an account with any of the big european banks located in Singapore (exceptions are Standard Chartered and HSBC) as they are high and mighty and have their minimum entries set at EUR 1 million.

[Soutpeel]

Yes i do have an account in Thailand enough for my retirement visa, and i am worried about banks in my home country and the euro just dont think its as easy as that to open a bank account in Sinapour.

i can't comment on your home country because you did not mention it and if you are worried about the EUR you have to worry whereever you keep your 100k unless you are planning to convert into Baht. opening a bank account in Singapore is not difficult but most banks require that you turn up personally.

yes i was thinking of converting to another currency, so i would i have to travel to Singapour to open a bank account? then transfer funds by way of internet banking would that work?

of course it would work. but you won't be able to open an account with any of the big european banks located in Singapore (exceptions are Standard Chartered and HSBC) as they are high and mighty and have their minimum entries set at EUR 1 million.

Dont have to travel to Singapore, as suggested have a look a Citi IPB, can open on-line and send paper work in the post, also can hold the account in about 4 or 5 different currencies incl Euro...

HSBC wouldnt touch with a barge pole

[Naam]

Dont have to travel to Singapore, as suggested have a look a Citi IPB, can open on-line and send paper work in the post, also can hold the account in about 4 or 5 different currencies incl Euro...

HSBC wouldnt touch with a barge pole

quite a number of Europeans wouldn't touch an american bank with a barge pole.

[fletchsmile]

Virtually nothing is 100% safe in life!

All really depends on what you are looking for and why. Not sure why you would want EUR 100k held in Thailand in EUR, and what you're trying to acheive.

You can put EUR 100k in EUR into most banks in Thailand, or Singapore. The safety can differ enormously.

In Thailand, EUR100k equivalent with the foreign banks (perceived by many as safer) would also get you premium or priority banking status at most banks, and a dedicated relationship manager to take away (some of) the hassles and headaches of dealing with the mass market.

[Soutpeel]

Dont have to travel to Singapore, as suggested have a look a Citi IPB, can open on-line and send paper work in the post, also can hold the account in about 4 or 5 different currencies incl Euro...

HSBC wouldnt touch with a barge pole

quite a number of Europeans wouldn't touch an american bank with a barge pole.

Point taken..prior to setting up with Citi in Singapore, Being a European, had actually tried the likes of HSBC in Jersey and all I got was the run around, as if they didnt want my money...

Had a previous account with HSBC and closed it in the end as customer service was dire and as regards the fees, they may as well wore a bandits mask...

I walked into Citi IPB in Singapore, expecting even more of a run around and was pleasantly suprised...walked out an hour later with an offshore account set up....ATM card in hand, returned after lunch same day and internet banking set up and have had excellent service ever since

[newbepat]

Dont have to travel to Singapore, as suggested have a look a Citi IPB, can open on-line and send paper work in the post, also can hold the account in about 4 or 5 different currencies incl Euro...

HSBC wouldnt touch with a barge pole

quite a number of Europeans wouldn't touch an american bank with a barge pole.

Point taken..prior to setting up with Citi in Singapore, Being a European, had actually tried the likes of HSBC in Jersey and all I got was the run around, as if they didnt want my money...

Had a previous account with HSBC and closed it in the end as customer service was dire and as regards the fees, they may as well wore a bandits mask...

Many thanks to one and all for your help i will take onboard what you said

I walked into Citi IPB in Singapore, expecting even more of a run around and was pleasantly suprised...walked out an hour later with an offshore account set up....ATM card in hand, returned after lunch same day and internet banking set up and have had excellent service ever since

[Stjohnm]

I have accounts in Baht & Sterling with Bangkok Bank, They are excellent, but as others have mentioned, only move money to a thai bank if you intend to spend it in Thailand. If you want easy access in a Safe Place go to Singapore, Hong Kong or keep it in your home country. If you live in Thailand or spend a lot of time here then Bangkok Bank and Kasigorn are the two front runners.

I'm not sure about Kasigorn but Bangkok Bank do offer foreign currency accounts at their bigger branches in all the major European, North American & Asian currencies.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Stjohnm

[aurelius]

Bangkok Bank also has access to the foreign currency account via internet banking.

[Naam]

Virtually nothing is 100% safe in life!

All really depends on what you are looking for and why. Not sure why you would want EUR 100k held in Thailand in EUR, and what you're trying to acheive.

You can put EUR 100k in EUR into most banks in Thailand, or Singapore. The safety can differ enormously.

In Thailand, EUR100k equivalent with the foreign banks (perceived by many as safer) would also get you premium or priority banking status at most banks, and a dedicated relationship manager to take away (some of) the hassles and headaches of dealing with the mass market.

my comments: