Singapore bank Accounts

[Crisu]

No it hasn't. At least for EU passport holders. I don't know about other citicenships.

In 3-4 months i have opened HSBC + Citibank remotely while residing in Thailand without any difficulties at all. Just the standard documents + telephone interview and courier posts. Account opened within a month. I have not sense any tightened up rules so far.

Offshore account is good in many ways, but interest rates sucks...

I notice a number of posters talk of how easy it is to open an account in Singapore, but that would very much depend on how long ago they did the opening. Because it has certainly tightened up.

What info can they get from a telephone interview BTW?

How does that help them to decide whether or not you can open a bank account?

If it's too do with aml laws why would they happy to open a $1+ million dollar account and not a regular savings or current account?

I opened a CitiBank SG account 4 months ago without going there.

I am not sure if it qualifies as a 'telephone interview' but after submitting a query online, a CitiBank SG Senior Business Development Manager called me to verbally to acknowledge my query and describe their products and then confirmed the requirements by email with 3 file attachments as follows;

"As an introduction, below is a summary of the InAccount.

1) Minimum balance to be maintained is USD $10k from the 2nd mth of account opening (i.e if account is set up in May, funding should reach that amount before 1st July).

2) This is a multicurrency account which allows you to save in various currencies such as USD, SGD, EUR, GBP & more. The USD $10k mentioned above refers to the total relationship balance.

3) Account closure penalty fee (USD $300) if account is closed in under 6 mths (i.e. if account is established in May, the account should not be closed till after November).

4) The account will come with an ATM card & the option of SGD or USD chequebooks. The ATM card may be used internationally & is purely for cash withdrawals. No charge if a Citibank ATM is used. There is no debit facility on this card.

5) There is full internet access & online banking for this account.

Please see below for the requested forms.

· AOA eng-bah pdf

Please fill in the details on page 1 & sign in the box as well. Sign on pg 11 of the forms & on section 11) SIGNATURE CARD (only ONCE per page). Kindly ensure your signatures on the forms match the signature on your passport.

· W8 – Please print 1 copy. Fill in your FULL PASSPORT name & sign on your form. Do note, there cannot be any cancellations/amendments on the form. If you need to make any changes, please print a brand new copy.

· LOI Thailand – Please fill in your preferred mailing address (per pg 1 of application forms) and sign ONCE.

Documents required -

1) CLEAR Passport photocopy (please sign on the copy).

2) CLEAR bank’s credit card that shows your name on the front. Must still be valid, of course.

3) Mailing Address proof – Please provide the latest copy of your utility bill/credit card statement/phone bill."

The SBDM recommended that I scan and email these forms for her approval before mailing them.

There's nothing onerous in their requirements beyond the W8 to satisfy the US's need to know and the passport photocopy doesn't even need to be certified. Simply the passport to confirm who you are, a current (other) bank credit card to show you have a banking (and credit) history somewhere and the utility bill, card statement to prove you live where you say your live.

This is definitely not an account for a 'high net worth' individual; those products are branded separately and come with relationship managers and the like.

Just spoke with Citibank Singapore (Senior Business Development Manager).

As soon as she started talking about 'revised platform being offered from 1 January 2016" and "bringing into line with other banks" - I knew sad news was acoming. The minimum balance is now $200,000 (didn't bother asking which currency....)

So - Citi is not an option for me. Any other suggestions?

What kind of bank business you would like to do?

[dinga]

Just spoke with Citibank Singapore (Senior Business Development Manager).

As soon as she started talking about 'revised platform being offered from 1 January 2016" and "bringing into line with other banks" - I knew sad news was acoming. The minimum balance is now $200,000 (didn't bother asking which currency....)

So - Citi is not an option for me. Any other suggestions?

What kind of bank business you would like to do?

Looking for a savings/investment account - mainly to park some USD/SGD currency and fund investments on SGX. Credit card would be useful, and internet operation an imperative.

Ideas?

[Crisu]

Just spoke with Citibank Singapore (Senior Business Development Manager).

As soon as she started talking about 'revised platform being offered from 1 January 2016" and "bringing into line with other banks" - I knew sad news was acoming. The minimum balance is now $200,000 (didn't bother asking which currency....)

So - Citi is not an option for me. Any other suggestions?

What kind of bank business you would like to do?

Looking for a savings/investment account - mainly to park some USD/SGD currency and fund investments on SGX. Credit card would be useful, and internet operation an imperative.

Ideas?

I suppose you are not living/working in Singapore.

I can tell you what i did:

Open an SGD account with UOB Bank + Visa Debit Card http://www.uob.com.sg/personal/index.html. At the moment i use this account+card for payments. Credit Card is possible but if you not work in SG it will be a so called secured credit card. mean you have to put for example 10.000 in a fixed deposit account and you will get 10.000 SGD limit on your card. You could also have a USD or EUR account, but you will have a new account no. the visa debit card is only possible in combination with the SGD account. the card is for international use and works fine (cash worldwide and internet-payment)

You can also buy some funds with UOB (they offered it to me). If you want to invest on stock market there is http://www.utrade.com.sg/index.jsp as their stockbroking arm. but i did not try that and also have no accoutn with them.

For accout opening you must go to SG. I recommend you to the main branch.

For investment and due to the limited ammount i recommend you Saxo Singapore Broker http://sg.saxomarkets.com/. I use them too. You can have several currencies and can invest in shares, ETF, bonds ect on many international stock markets (except bonds, they are traded OTC and min. trade size of 50.000 EUR). trading works online. dont need to go there. opening can be made by letter. money can be only transferred to an other account in YOUR name and if you want to transfer money to saxo then this account must also be in your name, so saxo is not useful for payments.

For saxo you need min. $10.000, for UOB account i not remember the amount anymore but was someting about 1-2000 SGD.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Crisu

[dinga]

Looks like all Singapore Banks have now fallen into line and all require a minimum S$200,000 balance for Non-Residents.

FYI here's the answer I received from OCBC

Dear Sir/ Madam

Foreigners / Tourists without valid passes will not be able to open a Personal Bank account with OCBC.

You may want to consider our Offshore Premier Banking services to enjoy the privileges of Premier Banking while overseas. Please refer to http://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/banking/Bnk_Peb_ProdServices.shtm for more information on our Premier Banking services.

In order to qualify for our Premier Banking service, our customers will be required to have deposits or investments worth a minimum of S$200,000 with the Bank.

Please note that all account openings are subject to the Bank's discretion and approval.

If you are intending to visit Singapore personally, you can also visit any of our local branches. Please bring your passport and the minimum initial deposit required.

In addition, you will be required to provide additional documents displaying your mailing address for account opening. Acceptable documents include:

• Bank or Credit Card statement generated/correspondence by a Financial Institution licensed or supervised by the relevant Central Bank.
  
• Telephone or Internet bill generated by relevant country’s Telecommunication or Internet Service Provider.
  
• Official statement for personal life insurance, property insurance or medical insurance generated by relevant licensed Insurance companies.
  
• Correspondence/Document issued from a Government agency
  
• Annual Tax Assessment generated by the relevant country’s Inland Revenue Board or Tax Authority.
  

All items must be dated no later than 3 months from the application date (except your Annual Tax Assessment).

You can find a listing of our local branches and their operating hours athttp://www.ocbc.com/personal-banking/helpcentre/Hcr_Brl_Listing.shtm?bcid=M3_C1.

Once you have successfully opened an account, you can then apply for our Internet Banking to manage your accounts easily while overseas.

If you are interested in opening a trading account, we would like to forward your enquiry to our colleagues from OCBC Securities so that they can assist you.

We would be grateful if you could provide us with the following details so that we can call you:

• NRIC/ Passport
  
• Nationality
  
• Your preferred contact number
  
• A convenient time to call you
  

Alternatively, you may contact them directly at:

• Customer Service Hotline : 1800 338 8688

• Operating Hours : 8.30am to 6.00pm (Monday - Friday)

• Email : [email protected]

If you have further questions, please feel free to email us or contact us at 1800 363 3333 (+65 6363 3333 if overseas).

Thank you for banking with us. We look forward to serving you again.

[Crisu]

Ocbc just one bank of many in sg. Why you so sure they act the same? Have you already contacted them all and received the same answer?

Edited January 23, 2016 by Crisu

[NanLaew]

Ocbc just one bank of many in sg. Why you so sure they act the same? Have you already contacted them all and received the same answer?

OCBC and Citibank have recently changed their policies regarding non-resident account minimum opening deposit. In the anodyne and sterile conformist society that prevails in Singapore, it is a fairly safe assumption that ALL their banks will be enforcing this new, national policy.

[fireplay]

This is not good news at all. Can anyone confirm opening a basic multi currency account in SG since this supposed rule with a few thousand USD? I was planning to go there in April and try again after my travels in the west.

[TheCruncher]

I went through this a couple or months back. Called UOB first - they said "No, non-residents cannot open an account with them." How about if I open an account with UOB in Thailand first? Still "No". Then called DBS - they said "Yes" and told me what documents to bring. Flew down to Sing and every DBS branch I went to told me "No" cannot open without a work permit or residence permit. Called the DBS call centre again and asked to speak to a supervisor who told me it was possible but at the discretion of the branch manager. Tried a couple more branches and every time it was a "No".

Called round a few banks and eventually Standard Chartered told me "Yes - I could open an account despite being a non-resident". Asked for the nearest branch to my location and went there where the guy I spoke to told me "No"... By now I am thoroughly p!55ed off and so became belligerent about being lied to, either by the call centre or by the branch, and so I informed them that I would leave the chair I was sitting in until someone came and explained to me why I was being lied to. That seemed to do the trick and a guy was sent over from Head Office with all the forms I needed to open an account. It was a pretty sh!tty deal - no interest, no ATM card... only internet banking, but it was better than leaving Sing empty handed so I took it.

What I learned from the experience:

The banks are a sneaky bunch of slimebags - call a call centre and when you finally speak to someone they say something like: "Thank you for calling DBS Bank Call Centre, my name is Hmmmunnnaaa, how may I help you?" Thankful just to speak to someone it is easy to ignore the fact the representative you are speaking to has just told you his/her name in Klingon... Later you will find that whenever you mention to the bank that what they are telling you contradicts what you were previously told by their call centre representative you will be asked for the name of the person you spoke to. It's actually a very clever ploy - the fact that you can't recall the name casts a shadow of doubt over the conversation you had, and hints that the inaction that ensues is somehow caused by the fact that you can't tell them who it was you spoke to... This is of course total bullsh!t. The bank records every call that comes through their call centre and in this day and age, if you made the call via your mobile phone you can simply check your phone log and tell them exactly what date and what time you made the call - they could then check their records and tell you that in fact you spoke to someone called Harmony.... That is, if they wanted to... Which of course they don't...

Which leads me onto their 2nd act of slimyness...

Whilst waiting for a representative of the bank to answer your call to the call centre you will most likely hear a recorded message telling you that: "In the interests of security your call may be recorded..." So they only record random calls? And it's potluck whether your call is recorded or not? Again, complete bullsh!t. So when a bank robber calls to say that he has kidnapped the bank manager and these are his demands... This may not be recorded??? I think not. Every call is recorded, both for security purposes and also to allow them to evaluate the performance of the call centre staff. So when they say that your call "may be recorded..." what they are actually saying is that in the event your call to the bank resulted in misinformation being given that perhaps resulted in you making an unnecessary trip to Singapore or else resulted in an even worse scenario for you, don't bother trying to pursue the matter because when you refer the matter to the ombudsman or whoever, the bank will be able to say: "Ohhhh.... I'm so sorry, it appears that the call you made was one of the ones that we didn't record..." as an intern hits the delete button on that particular file and takes any related hard copy to the shredding machine...

The best solution may be to install a call recorder app on your phone and when Hmmmunnnaaa answers inform him/her that in the interests of security you may also be recording the call. Then install a translator app that can understand Klingon...

Considering that the vast majority of people use banks simply to hold their savings and provide loans on the bricks and mortar properties that they live in, the banking system sucks. But it will continue to suck so long as the banks know that any time their incompetence bubbles to the surface they can expect to be bailed out,,,

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikecollins/2015/07/14/the-big-bank-bailout/

The first few paragraphs alone of the above article make for interesting reading.

This is amazing and almost exactly the same experience I had...but i gave up and did leave empty handed. As my plan is to set up a direct deposit for my salary and then use internet banking to transfer my monthly spending amounts to a current account....i am trying to keep the monthly costs down or at 0....I guess i should ask....what would you guys do with 2000 usd a month? How to save it? Where to grow it? What banks or countries or options for like say a 10 to 20 year plan?

With 2000 USD a month I wouldn't bother with offshore accounts as I would need that money every month to live in Thailand anyway.

[Bobotie]

Ocbc just one bank of many in sg. Why you so sure they act the same? Have you already contacted them all and received the same answer?

OCBC and Citibank have recently changed their policies regarding non-resident account minimum opening deposit. In the anodyne and sterile conformist society that prevails in Singapore, it is a fairly safe assumption that ALL their banks will be enforcing this new, national policy.

Are you talking about Citi bank Singapore or Citibank International personal banking based in Singapore, two "different" banks, for the citigold account, with Citi IPB, always required at least USD 150k on account with them which about SGD 215k...so seems to me in terms of Citi IPB, nothing has changed

What has changed as regards banking in Singapore is that come 2018, Singapore will be disclosing account holders information, to relevant home countries authorites, definitely in the case of the UK

Edited January 24, 2016 by Bobotie

[rwdrwdrwd]

Ocbc just one bank of many in sg. Why you so sure they act the same? Have you already contacted them all and received the same answer?

OCBC and Citibank have recently changed their policies regarding non-resident account minimum opening deposit. In the anodyne and sterile conformist society that prevails in Singapore, it is a fairly safe assumption that ALL their banks will be enforcing this new, national policy.

Are you talking about Citi bank Singapore or Citibank International personal banking based in Singapore, two "different" banks, for the citigold account, with Citi IPB, always required at least USD 150k on account with them which about SGD 215k...so seems to me in terms of Citi IPB, nothing has changed

What has changed as regards banking in Singapore is that come 2018, Singapore will be disclosing account holders information, to relevant home countries authorites, definitely in the case of the UK

I opened a Citibank IPB account with 5000 USD 18 months ago, it was the Global account, not the Citigold one.

Edited January 25, 2016 by rwdrwdrwd

[fireplay]

I want to open a bank account with 2 to 5 grand USD in SG and deposit my monthly savings in this account. WHEN I was last in sg in september citibank told me I needed a minimum of 20K to avoid fees. Do you avoid fees with that citibank ipb?

[rwdrwdrwd]

I believe the minimum balance to avoid fees is 10k (unless it's changed again), however I have gone below this numerous times and never been charged. I think it is supposed to be $30 USD/month

[Bobotie]

Ocbc just one bank of many in sg. Why you so sure they act the same? Have you already contacted them all and received the same answer?

OCBC and Citibank have recently changed their policies regarding non-resident account minimum opening deposit. In the anodyne and sterile conformist society that prevails in Singapore, it is a fairly safe assumption that ALL their banks will be enforcing this new, national policy.

Are you talking about Citi bank Singapore or Citibank International personal banking based in Singapore, two "different" banks, for the citigold account, with Citi IPB, always required at least USD 150k on account with them which about SGD 215k...so seems to me in terms of Citi IPB, nothing has changed

What has changed as regards banking in Singapore is that come 2018, Singapore will be disclosing account holders information, to relevant home countries authorites, definitely in the case of the UK

I opened a Citibank IPB account with 5000 USD 18 months ago, it was the Global account, not the Citigold one.

How much they charging in monthly bank fees for that 5k ?

[rwdrwdrwd]

I've never been charged a fee whatsoever.

Monthly account fees occur only if your account goes below the minimum balance, which used to be 5k and went up to 10k last year (and so far as I am aware remains at this level).

Edited January 25, 2016 by rwdrwdrwd

[TheCruncher]

I believe the minimum balance to avoid fees is 10k (unless it's changed again), however I have gone below this numerous times and never been charged. I think it is supposed to be $30 USD/month

This is from Citibank IPB Singapore

The closure fee of USD300 if the account is closed within 6 months only applies when you terminates the account with us. We will not close the account if you maintain below USD150,000 or equivalent in the account. It’s depends on the Relationship Manager’s discretion to maintain you as Citigold status based on your needs and future financial goals using the account. If you persistently maintain below USD150,000, the management or Relationship Manager may decide to transfer you to Citiblue account. There will be no service charge of USD30 if you maintain at USD50,000 or equivalent. The service charge will only be charge is you maintain below USD20,000. If you maintain balance at the level below USD20,000, the management or Relationship Manager may transfer you to Digital Bank account.

Edit : added IPB for those that can't can't make that out from the above text.

Edited January 25, 2016 by TheCruncher

[rwdrwdrwd]

The exact account I have is a 'Digital Bank Account' mentioned in that text - https://www.ipb.citibank.com.sg/english/static/digital-bank.htm

Regarding monthly fees and opening balances - https://www.ipb.citibank.com.sg/english/static/pricing_guide.htm?lid=IPBENCBGGNLNTLFeesAndRates

Minimum deposits:

US Dollar Checking Account $5,000
AUD, CAD, EUR, HKD, NZD, JPY, STG $5,000
SGD $5,000

Your monthly account service fee of USD30 will be automatically waived if your Total Relationship Balance

(TRB)^[1] is above USD10,000 (or equivalent) per month for Digital Bank Accounts & USD20,000 for Citibanking, Citigold or Citigold Private Client relationships,

I believe the minimum deposit is not per currency account - I got access to accounts for all of the above with a single 5000 USD initial deposit, and as I mentioned before, have never been charged any monthly fee in the whole time I've had the account (must be nearing on two years now)

Edited January 25, 2016 by rwdrwdrwd

[Bobotie]

I've never been charged a fee whatsoever.

Monthly account fees occur only if your account goes below the minimum balance, which used to be 5k and went up to 10k last year (and so far as I am aware remains at this level).

The minimum on the USD cheque account used to be usd 15k, if the balance went below that, the monthly bank fee was something like 28 sing a month

Re-reading what you have written above, different accounts, different t&cs apply, there is no single answer it looks like

Edited January 25, 2016 by Bobotie

[susah_sih]

The US government has banned account opening for American citizens by any bank outside the US. Unless that particular US citizen works in a foreign country then the bank can do so by getting his/her work or residence permit. Furthermore, US law is far reaching nowadays for every new account open, every Indonesian bank for example must have its new client signs a declaration of FATCA that the person does not hold any US green cards or passports or was not born in the US. It is a matter instituted by the US IRS as it obsessively wants to generate as much revenue from every single US subject.

Holding funds balance generates little revenue nowadays as interest is so low. Banks carry more liabilities now to open accounts as the US is making money by slapping with fines for something as trivial as opening bank accounts for an American. UBS in Singapore is getting sued by US government for opening an account for a Taiwanese American who opened an account using his Taiwanese passport. UBS did not do enough due diligence to find out that he also has an American passport. Another extreme case is Wegelin & Co, a 270 year old Swiss bank was made bankrupt by the lawsuit from the US IRS.

Foreign accounts in Singapore are mostly for high networth individuals. Even then, the banks would be really weary for a walk in customer suddenly showing up without any appointment at their office. Practically any banks around the world has established a presence in Singapore to tap big money from around South East Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand etc. And these accounts are really investment accounts; it is not something to pay the bill etc.

Private wealth manager travels around the region to look for new clients. They usually flies out of Singapore say to Bangkok on Monday and stays during the week there and flies back to Singapore by Friday. Their said minimum requirement for account varies from bank to bank Goldman, Morgan Stanley usually requires $5million to begin with. UBS, Barclays have lower amount at $3millions. If the manager is new to the bank and s/he is desperate than s/he will work hard to ensure that you can open account with as little as $500k but then you have to bring the balance up to $3 million within 2 years or so. And really these are desperate new managers who need to quickly find clients before their 3 months probation is up or else they will be on the street looking for a new job. UBS regularly fires managers who has been with the bank for two years or so with assets under management of less than $30millions. And really don't expect that you get alot of service with $3million balance. The manager has hardly time to guard for your portfolio let alone do other fancy stuff like picking you up at Singapore airport or sending you magazine/flowers when you are hospitalized there. Such exceptional service is for those clients with balances of USD50million and above. And there are quite many people who have $50million and higher in their bank accounts. Thaksin who is a UBS client can easily have billion dollars in his account there. Other than that these private wealth manager is really just a sales person trying to make a living. No body cares about your money other than yourself. Be weary of their product offerings, just stick to the basics of buying only stocks and bonds. Most of bank products have high fees embedded in them, where you lose money the minute you buys into the investments. And also do not forget to check your portfolio regularly online instead of from the bank statements that are brought in by your manager. There have been numerous cases of doctored bank statements where the manager made unauthorized trades to earn him/her commissions.

Citigold and HSBC Premier provides posh service but their service comes at a cost. Every trade made at Citigold is easily 3 to 5 times more expensive than a similar trade at Citi Private Bank. Citigold/HSBC Premier has been known for stealing money when you buy bonds through them, they squeezed clients twice when the clients buy AND when they sell the bonds.

You can safe guard against any bank's bankruptcy by not leaving big amount of cash in the account. For USD cash, simply protect them by buying US treasury bills, which is very liquid and can be converted into cash within 2 days. That way if the bank goes under, your US treasury bills is safe and sound recorded at the custodian and at the US Treasury Dept. And really nowadays why you would even bother to make time deposit, just buy short dated Investment grade bonds from big corporations and get 3-4% interest with practically little risk. You also can sell these bonds anytime unlike time deposits.

[susah_sih]

I want to open a bank account with 2 to 5 grand USD in SG and deposit my monthly savings in this account. WHEN I was last in sg in september citibank told me I needed a minimum of 20K to avoid fees. Do you avoid fees with that citibank ipb?

I think you should fly to new york and open citibank in new york and dont forget to sign up for online banking, you can do wire transfer up to $50k. It is the best offering. Citi in Singapore does not give freebies. To transfer USD, they will charge USD100-200 easy vs Citi New York for only USD20.

[Bobotie]

I want to open a bank account with 2 to 5 grand USD in SG and deposit my monthly savings in this account. WHEN I was last in sg in september citibank told me I needed a minimum of 20K to avoid fees. Do you avoid fees with that citibank ipb?

I think you should fly to new york and open citibank in new york and dont forget to sign up for online banking, you can do wire transfer up to $50k. It is the best offering. Citi in Singapore does not give freebies. To transfer USD, they will charge USD100-200 easy vs Citi New York for only USD20.

Forgive my french, but bullshit...i am with citibank in Singapore and have had a citigold account with them for years and have regularly transferred USD and the costs are in the region of 20 to 35 USD, so stop making stories up

[Naam]

...just buy short dated Investment grade bonds from big corporations and get 3-4% interest with practically little risk.

tday, dear children, we will analyse and find a definition for the expression "wet dream"

[Naam]

we shall also take a look at comments and misleading incorrect information which is usually labelled "rubbish" such as

The US government has banned account opening for American citizens by any bank outside the US.

[susah_sih]

...just buy short dated Investment grade bonds from big corporations and get 3-4% interest with practically little risk.

tday, dear children, we will analyse and find a definition for the expression "wet dream"

Maybe seeing is believing. Now a wetdream becomes reality.

http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/BondCenter/BondDetail.jsp?ticker=C649140&symbol=XRX4077753

Xerox is rated investment grade at Baa2 for one of its short dated bond due 2019 yields 3.442% pa.

http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/BondCenter/BondDetail.jsp?ticker=C496399&symbol=ETE3675466

Panhandle Eastern Gas Pipeline in Texas which is also rated Investment Grade by Moodys at Baa3 yields 6.251%, last traded on Thursday, the 24th.

[susah_sih]

I want to open a bank account with 2 to 5 grand USD in SG and deposit my monthly savings in this account. WHEN I was last in sg in september citibank told me I needed a minimum of 20K to avoid fees. Do you avoid fees with that citibank ipb?

I think you should fly to new york and open citibank in new york and dont forget to sign up for online banking, you can do wire transfer up to $50k. It is the best offering. Citi in Singapore does not give freebies. To transfer USD, they will charge USD100-200 easy vs Citi New York for only USD20.

Forgive my french, but bullshit...i am with citibank in Singapore and have had a citigold account with them for years and have regularly transferred USD and the costs are in the region of 20 to 35 USD, so stop making stories up

Not making up the stories at all. If you open a regular Citibank account which the original poster wanted with $5-$20k balance, you will get slapped with commissions of 1/8% of the amounts transferred plus cable charges of USD20.

[susah_sih]

http://www.citibank.com.sg/global_docs/pdf/banking_fees.pdf

Page 5 states that 1/8% commissions max SGD200 + cable charges SGD20 for transferring money.

vs

Citi NY for USD20 all in.

[fireplay]

I am on my way to SG to open up a bank account to "pay the bills"...I am an American...and I shall report back...

[fireplay]

we shall also take a look at comments and misleading incorrect information which is usually labelled "rubbish" such as

The US government has banned account opening for American citizens by any bank outside the US.

There are loads of countries who will open accounts for Americans....and not just high value clients...the only thing is the FACTA paperwork and the tax id number...or social security number...

[susah_sih]

we shall also take a look at comments and misleading incorrect information which is usually labelled "rubbish" such as

The US government has banned account opening for American citizens by any bank outside the US.

well, if you are an American and successful in opening account in Singapore or Hong Kong and outside your residence permit which I assume in Thailand then congratulation since that particular bank branch is still unaware of the changes in regulation yet.

[Naam]

...just buy short dated Investment grade bonds from big corporations and get 3-4% interest with practically little risk.

tday, dear children, we will analyse and find a definition for the expression "wet dream"

Maybe seeing is believing. Now a wetdream becomes reality.

http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/BondCenter/BondDetail.jsp?ticker=C649140&symbol=XRX4077753

Xerox is rated investment grade at Baa2 for one of its short dated bond due 2019 yields 3.442% pa.

http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/BondCenter/BondDetail.jsp?ticker=C496399&symbol=ETE3675466

Panhandle Eastern Gas Pipeline in Texas which is also rated Investment Grade by Moodys at Baa3 yields 6.251%, last traded on Thursday, the 24th.

i stand corrected, however... it's less than 2 months since Xerox' rating was changed from stable to negative and looking at the chart...

[mesquite]

The US government has banned account opening for American citizens by any bank outside the US. Unless that particular US citizen works in a foreign country then the bank can do so by getting his/her work or residence permit. Furthermore, US law is far reaching nowadays for every new account open, every Indonesian bank for example must have its new client signs a declaration of FATCA that the person does not hold any US green cards or passports or was not born in the US. It is a matter instituted by the US IRS as it obsessively wants to generate as much revenue from every single US subject.

Holding funds balance generates little revenue nowadays as interest is so low. Banks carry more liabilities now to open accounts as the US is making money by slapping with fines for something as trivial as opening bank accounts for an American. UBS in Singapore is getting sued by US government for opening an account for a Taiwanese American who opened an account using his Taiwanese passport. UBS did not do enough due diligence to find out that he also has an American passport. Another extreme case is Wegelin & Co, a 270 year old Swiss bank was made bankrupt by the lawsuit from the US IRS.

Foreign accounts in Singapore are mostly for high networth individuals. Even then, the banks would be really weary for a walk in customer suddenly showing up without any appointment at their office. Practically any banks around the world has established a presence in Singapore to tap big money from around South East Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand etc. And these accounts are really investment accounts; it is not something to pay the bill etc.

Private wealth manager travels around the region to look for new clients. They usually flies out of Singapore say to Bangkok on Monday and stays during the week there and flies back to Singapore by Friday. Their said minimum requirement for account varies from bank to bank Goldman, Morgan Stanley usually requires $5million to begin with. UBS, Barclays have lower amount at $3millions. If the manager is new to the bank and s/he is desperate than s/he will work hard to ensure that you can open account with as little as $500k but then you have to bring the balance up to $3 million within 2 years or so. And really these are desperate new managers who need to quickly find clients before their 3 months probation is up or else they will be on the street looking for a new job. UBS regularly fires managers who has been with the bank for two years or so with assets under management of less than $30millions. And really don't expect that you get alot of service with $3million balance. The manager has hardly time to guard for your portfolio let alone do other fancy stuff like picking you up at Singapore airport or sending you magazine/flowers when you are hospitalized there. Such exceptional service is for those clients with balances of USD50million and above. And there are quite many people who have $50million and higher in their bank accounts. Thaksin who is a UBS client can easily have billion dollars in his account there. Other than that these private wealth manager is really just a sales person trying to make a living. No body cares about your money other than yourself. Be weary of their product offerings, just stick to the basics of buying only stocks and bonds. Most of bank products have high fees embedded in them, where you lose money the minute you buys into the investments. And also do not forget to check your portfolio regularly online instead of from the bank statements that are brought in by your manager. There have been numerous cases of doctored bank statements where the manager made unauthorized trades to earn him/her commissions.

Citigold and HSBC Premier provides posh service but their service comes at a cost. Every trade made at Citigold is easily 3 to 5 times more expensive than a similar trade at Citi Private Bank. Citigold/HSBC Premier has been known for stealing money when you buy bonds through them, they squeezed clients twice when the clients buy AND when they sell the bonds.

You can safe guard against any bank's bankruptcy by not leaving big amount of cash in the account. For USD cash, simply protect them by buying US treasury bills, which is very liquid and can be converted into cash within 2 days. That way if the bank goes under, your US treasury bills is safe and sound recorded at the custodian and at the US Treasury Dept. And really nowadays why you would even bother to make time deposit, just buy short dated Investment grade bonds from big corporations and get 3-4% interest with practically little risk. You also can sell these bonds anytime unlike time deposits.

. Nonsense.