Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Offshore Banking Reduce Portfolio Risks

By thulas


Offshore banking comes into play when you transfer money or assets to an overseas location where they are managed by banks which work in jurisdictions which are outside the country where you reside. The term came to be known as offshore after the British Channel Islands which was located just off the shore from the main land. Known as the investors' paradise these islands provided a completely tax free environment and soon became popular for this purpose. Banking institutions did not let this opportunity to go past and they started to operate from these islands making the most of the investment scenario.

Other countries soon followed the leaders and started to come up with their own beneficial offerings and the market boomed. Today the term means more and encompasses only the asset owned in countries which is not your usual country of dwelling. Such areas would have requisite laws which support offshore banking. These laws ensures that banking institutions must always and under every circumstances maintain strict confidentiality about customers' accounts. They also have less strict restrictions and regulations allowing for more flexible offshore accounts that are easier to manipulate in various ways.

In case you desire to know more details about offshore banking there is a whole world of free help and information out there for you. It should be noted though that before any commitment decided upon, financial help is an important factor. The slack guidelines related to international banking entails several pitfalls which must be noted before investing.

It might require a deposit of a lump sum amount of money. The money that we are talking about could be anywhere between 2 and 10 thousand dollars but it could vary according to the time duration of holding as well as the kind of account. The more you keep your money in the bank without any transactions, the higher the rate of interest. Since this would largely depend on your choice of offshore banking institution, it makes sense to consult an expert before making any investment.

Depending on the banking route chosen, the initial deposit as demanded by offshore banks could be really low even one dollar. Only one document is required by some banks. One can witness this from a bank like HSBC whose advertising slogan is 'the world's local bank' and their customers can operate through their online banking services and manage their account irrespective their physical location. HSBC is famous round the world as a bank which is responsible for developing few of the most customer-friendly and easy-going international banking systems and this accolade makes them one of the most sought after banks in the industry.

Information related to offshore banking is freely available from the internet or offline resources. A wide variety of free information on offshore banking is out there to make you more savvy in the matter and help you make right choices. This type of free information can be available to individuals or companies but business data would cost money in case they wish to enhance their profits.

Running into trillions of dollars in daily transactions, offshore banking is a huge industry. Competition in this market is intense where every bank is doing their best to attract customers and going all out to tell them about the services which are on offer.

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