{"id":8182,"date":"2016-12-09T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T14:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=8182"},"modified":"2020-06-03T01:37:41","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T05:37:41","slug":"gain-access-banks-investments-closed-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/gain-access-banks-investments-closed-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"How to gain access to banks and investments closed to Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re an American and have tried to open an offshore bank account in the last few years, you \u00a0know how difficult it can be. About 85% of banks are closed to U.S. persons and, that who will let us in, charge higher fees and limit our investment choices. Here\u2019s how to gain access to banks and investments that are closed to Americans using an offshore trust.<\/span><\/p>\n

The primary reason most banks are closed to Americans is The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (<\/span>FATCA<\/span><\/a>). Since March of 2015, banks and brokerage firms have been required to report all offshore accounts owned by U.S. persons to the U.S. IRS. This effectively turned bank officers into unpaid IRS agents and placed an enormous compliance burden and cost on international banks. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most banks found it more cost effective to dump Americans rather than build or buy a FATCA compliance system. And we\u2019re not talking about small expenditures here\u2026 total <\/span>implementation costs<\/span><\/a> are thought to be $1 to $2 trillion dollars. According to the Financial Post, the Scotiabank in Canada alone spent almost $100 million. <\/span><\/p>\n

Smaller offshore banks that couldn\u2019t afford to kick out Americans spent millions of dollars to get into compliance, many of them losing money in 2015 because of the burden. Some have since gone into bankruptcy trying to keep up. <\/span><\/p>\n

Then there are <\/span>some large banks that have found a way to let in high net worth Americans through the back door<\/b>. If you\u2019re account is large enough, or inside the right structure, you can do business with banks in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Andorra, and elsewhere. <\/span><\/p>\n

The most effective method of gaining access to banks and investments closed to Americans is through an <\/span>offshore trust<\/span><\/a>. Form and fund an offshore trust in the Cook Islands or Belize with a foreign trustee. This trustee will be your entry ticket into offshore banks in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. <\/span><\/p>\n

This offshore trust will also provide solid asset protection and privacy for you and your family. A properly structured foreign trust, which is funded prior to any problems arising, is the gold standard in asset protection. It places a barrier between a civil creditor and your cash that\u2019s impossible to breach. <\/span><\/p>\n