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Tag: banking

15 Sep
A piggy bank inside of a briefcase with the words Asset Protection on front.

Asset Protection

What You Need To Know About Asset Protection Today It is important to know what  international asset protection is and what it is not. A properly constructed asset protection plan places a portion of your net worth behind multiple barriers…the more barriers, the greater the protection. It allows you to level the litigation playing field and [...]
25 Aug
Offshore Banks are a complex matter these days.

Why I Don’t Recommend Offshore Banks Anymore (From An Offshore Expert)

Banking overseas is more challenging today than it’s ever been and more challenging all the time thanks to the constantly changing landscape. One week, one bank will open an account for Americans. The next week it won’t. Another bank that required a US$100,000 minimum bank balance increases that requirement to US$500,000… and then reduces it […]

26 May
Filing Your FBAR

Tips For Filing Your FBAR

A friend I caught up with last week in Medellin, an American, told me with a grin that he’d already completed and filed his FBAR for this year. He was pleased with himself for getting  it in early…until I reminded him that, starting this year, the FBAR must be filed electronically. My friend had filled […]

23 May
cartagena colombia as well as medellin are great places to invest in colombia

Investing In Factoring In Colombia

One of the benefits of hosting conferences around the world is the chance they give me to spend focused time with key contacts in key markets. It’s at our conferences that I find out about ear-to-the-ground kinds of opportunities that usually don’t make it beyond a small circle of investor-friends. This week in Medellin, for […]

16 May
Frustrations Of Banking Offshore

Frustrations Of Banking Offshore

You should have an account with an offshore bank. That’s a fundamental step in any plan for diversifying offshore. How do you choose where to open your first (or subsequent) offshore bank account? Don’t try to base the decision on customer service, because, the sad truth is, finding a financial institution with consistently good customer […]

21 Apr
Two Winners, Two Losers

How To Choose A Rental Investment Property In Panama City, Panama

The first viewing was a one-bedroom, two-bath apartment with a den on Avenida Balboa. The den could be converted into a small bedroom to make the unit a two-bedroom. Why did the developer not package the property this way in the first place? Probably due to concerns over zoning density. Other apartments along Avenida Balboa […]

06 Feb
Saving Money when facing Currency Exchange Rates

Saving Money In The Face Of Currency Exchange Rates

I usually ignore foreign exchange rates. You can’t predict them and trying to time them when making a real estate investment is a crap shoot. If you wait too long for an exchange rate to get where you want it to be before sending your money for a real estate purchase, the opportunity can disappear. […]

21 Nov
FATCA Banking Regulations

Offshore Banking Regulation

“’Knock three times and ask for Roscoe.’ “That’s what offshore banking used to be,” Peter Zipper, an offshore banker with more than three decades of experience, explained this morning to the crowd attending this week’s Offshore Summit. “But those days are over,” Peter continued.

28 Oct
Banking And Champagne Tasting In France

Banking And Champagne Tasting In France

Traditionally, the sediment was removed by hand. However, this meant that a fair amount of champagne was lost. As each bottle was opened, the built up effervescence pushed out the sediment but, of course, some of the wine, too. The process was slow and very inefficient. Then, sometime in the 1970s, someone had the big […]