Deposits in foreign banks. How to open a foreign currency deposit in a foreign bank? Why do depositors choose foreign banks

Russian legislation does not prohibit Russian citizens from opening accounts and deposits in foreign banks, although this was not always the case. In the West, private investors are attracted not so much by savings conditions for investments abroad, as by the opportunity to diversify their funds by placing them in depositories with different levels of reliability. In this sense, Swiss banks, of course, have always been leaders in the safe storage of money and bank secrecy... Although according to statistics, Russians are no less interested in other European financial institutions, for example, in Cyprus and even in the Baltic countries.

Who needs a bank deposit abroad?

The reason for focusing on foreign accounts is not only following the adage “don't keep your eggs in one basket”. A lot of our fellow citizens do business with foreign partners, buy real estate abroad, send their children to study in educational institutions, and they themselves often go to different countries... It is quite natural that it is convenient for such people to keep part of their savings in foreign bank accounts.

We will not compare the degree of reliability foreign investments... Moreover, it is difficult to do this in our time. economic crises covering all world economy and even financial conglomerates with a long and impeccable history. We propose only to consider the question of how a Russian citizen can open a bank deposit abroad and how profitable it is.

It turns out that this process is not so simple. The easiest way is to open a foreign deposit to a person who has a residence permit in the country where the chosen bank is located, especially if the person works for a foreign company. There are no problems with bank accounts for students studying in the West. Banks make decisions much faster on applications from businessmen conducting open and legal business with Western partners. But for other Russians trying to conclude an agreement with a bank abroad, the procedure is often delayed for a long time. Some of them find it strange not only a long check of documents, but the very set of necessary papers.

Features of opening a foreign deposit

Note that in each state with developed economies its own "anti-money laundering" law is in place to prevent the legalization of proceeds from crime. And the point is not even that citizens from Russia, with its high corruption component and shadow economy, are treated more suspiciously than any other European. It's just that the bank must check each of its new clients for reliability, and its source of income for legality. A serious lending institution must be confident in the "purity" of any money that goes to their accounts. In this sense, it is much more difficult to verify a Russian and the source of origin of his funds than a Westerner. Moreover, a fairly high threshold for the first deposit in a self-respecting bank weeds out citizens with low and even average earnings in Russia. Most Russians who want to open a deposit in the West are people with high and very high high income... Few of them are simple an employee with a "transparent" salary.

Therefore, the package of documents for opening an account abroad, in addition to the application and the depositor's questionnaire, sometimes includes quite exotic certificates that no one requires in our banks in order to conclude a simple deposit agreement. Of these, a certificate of income of an individual over the past few years, certified by the tax office, seems to be the simplest. Of the necessary, we list notarized copies of domestic and foreign passports, sometimes not only of the depositor, but also of his spouse. They may also require information about the absence of problems with the police, the composition of the family. In confirmation of living at the specified address, sometimes they ask to attach an invoice for payment for public Utilities written out in the name of the depositor.

In the process of collecting the necessary papers, the principle is traced - the higher the amount of the deposit, the more documents a serious bank asks for. Moreover, if the savings exceed the par value of 100 thousand US dollars. You can try to explain the origin of the smaller amounts in simple writing. If the potential client is a businessman, then you need more information about the business and the legal origin of the funds. Recommendations from Western business partners or other clients of the same bank are welcomed. It is good to have a bank account in the Russian subsidiary of a well-known foreign bank, whose favorable review can have a positive effect on the image of a citizen.

As you can imagine, it is impossible to quickly check such a number of documents. Therefore, the procedure is sometimes delayed for several weeks. Although, for example, Cypriot financial institutions and their offshore counterparts are easier to collect information. An employee of one of the consulting companies claims that if the verification has dragged on for more than a month and a potential investor is asked more and more supporting documents, then one should not hope that the process will end with a positive decision. It is not customary for Western banks to directly refuse an applicant. Rather, the person himself will refuse to continue further meaningless correspondence. This is how very often an attempt to open a deposit with major Russian officials and his close relatives, who are considered foreign public figures with a high degree of probability that they are close to corruption, ends.

How to open a deposit abroad?

But if the source of income of a foreigner does not cause suspicion and can be quite simply confirmed and verified, then expectations will eventually end with an offer to sign a bank account agreement with the bank. There are several ways to apply for a deposit abroad and sign an agreement for a Russian citizen in the future.

First, independently and remotely from Russia. This method is not always the cheapest and not the fact that it is the fastest and easiest. Because not every person is able to understand the peculiarities of the legislation of a foreign country and the requirements of a foreign institution. Although any bank is quite willing to enter into correspondence, both fax and electronic. Correctly certified documents can be sent by mail, some of them can be sent by fax or scanned online. But a citizen will need to sign the final agreement in person in the country where the bank is located after receiving consent. And this additional expenses for a trip, which does not always pay off with interest on the deposit.

The second way is communication through the official representative offices of banks in Russia, of which there are not many in Moscow. These usually do not conduct financial affairs with clients, but help them collect and send a package of documents. For wealthier depositors, appointments are made in Russia to sign an agreement with a bank employee who comes specially from abroad.

The third method assumes that the potential depositor is a user of the private services of a Russian bank that has connections with partners abroad. For VIP clients, the domestic bank organizes the process of opening a Western account, taking on the organizational side of the issue. But a citizen will be able to sign an agreement only by personally meeting with a representative of a foreign bank. This will happen either on the territory of another state or a bank clerk will come to Russia. As you understand, the service is available only for very wealthy people who are able to place in foreign bank over a million dollars.

There is one more opportunity to open a deposit. If a citizen can entrust his financial affairs to a consulting company, then in Moscow there are several of them specializing in opening accounts for Russians abroad. These usually have established ties with various foreign credit institutions. Therefore, consultants will not only help you choose a country, a bank and acceptable conditions for opening a deposit, but also speed up the process of collecting documents, even help you find a guarantor in the West, if necessary. These services can cost up to 1,000 euros, depending on the bank. The territory of the signing of the agreement also depends on him. Some people agree to the postal fax option.

A citizen of the Russian Federation, after concluding an account agreement, must not forget about compliance with certain legal norms. The Russian is obliged to notify within a month tax office about the existence of a bank account abroad. Violation threatens not only with a fine of up to 5,000 rubles, but also with the refusal of the Russian bank to transfer money there. To replenish a foreign deposit is most likely to be done by bank transfer from your account at home. It is unlikely that it will be possible to do this in cash. Moreover, it is impossible to deposit cash in a serious financial institution such as a Swiss bank.

Foreign banks and contract terms

We do not undertake to judge why our people open deposits abroad, but most experts agree that it is more for the sake of saving funds than for increasing them. After all, rates in foreign banks are much lower than the interest on deposits in ours. Judge for yourself, the most high stakes we get to 8 annual interest on accounts of euros and US dollars in not the largest institutions. Although the percentage is very different for different deposits even in banks from the TOP-20. For example, Promsvyazbank offers deposit products in dollars at 4.2% -7.5%. His colleague Sberbank is already setting 3.4% -4.15% per annum. Considering that it is charged on a very large sums or not in the most rated banks, let's compare these figures with foreign deposit rates:

Swiss Union Bank of Switzerland and Deutsche Bank - up to 3%,
Austrian Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich and Valartis Bank - up to 3%,
Norwegian Nordea Bank Danmark - up to 4%,
Cyprus Marfin Bank - up to 4.5%,
Cypriot Bank of Cyprus - up to 6%,
Latvian ABLV Bank, AS - up to 6.8%,
Latvian Rietumu Bank - up to 8%.

Some large banks charge lower interest rates for non-residents than for the citizens of their country. In the west, the so-called indexed deposits with more high interest rates, which are usually called structured products... Such deposits involve investing part of the funds in securities.

If we take into account the expensive fees for opening and maintaining an account (which is almost never found in Russian banks for deposits), that the interest for conversion and cash withdrawal is commensurate with the deposit interest, expensive transfer to another account, then the question of the profitability of a deposit of up to 50 thousand dollars, in our opinion, disappears by itself. Although most of the rating banks do not accept a lower amount from foreigners. In this sense, the exception, perhaps, are offshore and Baltic financial institutions, in which the investment threshold either does not exist at all, or starts from $ 100 / euro.

Please note that some Russian banks have subsidiaries abroad. But deposit rates at the same Cyprus branch of Promsvyazbank is much lower than in Russia. Although, opening a deposit for a Russian in this institution is much easier. Note that it is almost impossible for a citizen of the Russian Federation to open a bank account in the UK without permanently residing in this country.

As for the deposit insurance system, let us say that in the EU countries it exists similarly to ours. But each state has its own sum insured and the procedure for its payment upon the occurrence of an insured event.

As you know, banks in Europe are trusted by the majority of Russians. This is due both to the economic situation in the countries of the Near Abroad, and to the distrust of the banks of their country, due to which, in the 90s, depositors lost a significant part of their investments.

That is why the owners of impressive sums of money give preference to banks in Europe: interest rates in them, of course, are slightly higher than usual, but they are more reliable.

As a rule, in EU countries, rates are rarely more than 3-4 percent (in the case of open account in euros) and 5-6% (with a dollar account) per annum. In Swiss banks (namely, they are considered by the Russians to be the most reliable for storing Money) the rate is even lower.

What do you need to know if you want to open an account with a foreign bank?

First, you need to choose the bank that is most suitable for you and meets the purpose of your investment. Then you need to find out if the bank works with individuals because many banks foreign countries only allow legal entities to open an account.

One of the barriers to investing in foreign bank can become citizenship. Therefore, you need to find out first of all whether the bank is engaged in work with people who are not citizens of this country, in our case, with citizens Russian Federation(if you are). In a number of foreign countries cash flows countries such as Russia and the CIS countries find foreign banks the most risky, since their source of origin is questionable. Of course, all this is done because foreign banks are very concerned about their reputation in the world market. Therefore, tracking the history of a citizen of their country is easier and more reliable.

However, if the bank agrees to work with citizens of the Russian Federation, then the issue of opening an account with this bank has not yet been resolved and is not even on the way to completion. Many banks study the activities of a potential client very carefully. Tracking a depositor's funds is called due diligence. This means that the depositor must submit to the bank the most detailed information containing information about the depositor's identity, monthly income and about the type of their activity. Also useful will be information about the family members of the client. Such information is required in order to find out how solvent the depositor is and whether the funds invested in the bank are obtained in an honest way, since European banks value their reputation very much.

The bank may refuse to open an account for you if you or any member of your family is a government employee, as there is a risk that corrupt money will fall into the bank, which can significantly damage the reputation of the bank.

To open an account in one of the banks in Europe, you will need following documents: Russian regular passport, international passport, passport of your spouse, document from the place of registration at the place of residence, as well as certified letters of recommendation from banks that previously served you, if any. And, of course, you will need your financial profile questionnaire, which you will need to fill out.

It should also be borne in mind that the minimum limit of a European bank is an amount of at least three hundred euros annually. Of course, the personal presence of the depositor is also necessary.

Thus, banks of foreign countries are not only among the most reliable; they also differ in minimum interest rates and increased complexity of deposit registration.

Among all types of investment for all age and social groups of the population, the most popular is to put money on a deposit in a bank. The not too high profitability of such an investment is compensated by its rather high reliability.

At the same time, crisis phenomena and surges in inflation from time to time lead to both devaluation of deposits and non-return of deposits. It is believed that in order to protect your savings more reliably, you need to invest in a foreign bank.

What is the advantage of foreign banks?

There are several reasons why our compatriots prefer to open bank accounts abroad (say, in Swiss banks). The main ones are:

• High confidentiality (especially in Swiss banks).
• Minimization of risks due to high levels of capital and banking assets.
• High level state support providing compensation for deposits from 250 thousand dollars in the US and 50-100 thousand euros in the EU, including for non-resident depositors.

At the same time, the law, according to which the degree of risk is directly proportional to the level of potential income, also applies to banking... The reliability and stability of foreign banks is associated with very modest interest rates (especially in Swiss institutions). As a rule, this value is no more than 3% per year. In rare cases, this value reaches 5%, and for short-term (up to two years) deposits and flexible terms of replenishment, it can be as high as 0.1%.

In addition, a certain amount of money is charged for servicing a deposit, and in many countries - and tax, especially when closing a deposit (up to 40%). It can be considered that the decision to invest in most foreign banks is more a way of storing rather than increasing funds. In addition to the reliability of savings, such deposits are also useful for those of our compatriots who often travel abroad and live there for a long time.

Is it difficult to invest?

In principle, it is quite easy to invest in a foreign bank (including a Swiss one), for almost all law-abiding citizens. However, it should be borne in mind that this is associated with a number of very lengthy and complex formal procedures.

1. Opening a deposit abroad is possible only if the depositor is personally present at the foreign office. Branches of foreign banks in Russia do not perform such an operation.
2. Most Western banks have a fairly high entry fee - at least 10 thousand dollars, moreover, the depositor is required to confirm the legality of ownership of this amount. As a rule, if a client has a legal source of income in the territory of a given country and an appropriate residence permit, the requirements for him are significantly relaxed.
3. Opening an account is carried out on the basis of a passport, a document on the place of residence and other documents, the list of which depends on a particular bank (up to payment of checks for utilities). For citizens of Ukraine, it is also required to obtain a currency license from the NBU. As a rule, the presence of an account in a subsidiary of a foreign bank on the territory of the Russian Federation or Ukraine greatly facilitates the opening procedure.

The procedure for opening a deposit in a foreign bank can be lengthy and laborious, therefore there are special companies that facilitate the collection of the necessary documents and the coordination of procedures; assistance is also provided by the official representative offices of banks. For wealthy clients, it is even possible for an authorized representative to come to draw up bank agreement in the country of residence.

Transfer of funds to a newly opened bank account is carried out by depositing cash (which must be declared when crossing the border), withdrawing from a card of another bank, or with the help of companies specializing in withdrawing money abroad. The tax office at the place of residence should be notified of the opening of a foreign account no later than one month later.

To whom and where is it profitable to open accounts in foreign banks?

It is believed that the threshold amount of a deposit in a foreign bank should be at least 50 thousand dollars, and the duration of storage should be at least five years, otherwise Bank deposit does not justify the cost of its creation and maintenance. For citizens of the post-Soviet space, rather strict control of the movement of funds and confirmation of the legality of operations is often practiced.

Banks of Cyprus are considered the most profitable for opening deposits, offering rates of up to 10% per annum and a minimum deposit period of up to several days. It is still considered prestigious to invest in a Swiss bank, which provides not only a high level of reliability and diversification banking services, but also a high degree of profitability (up to 5.6%).

It does not meet significant obstacles and the opening of bank accounts by our compatriots Central Europe especially for students and persons engaged in international business activities. For those who often come to the country or have a regular income there, the rules for opening and maintaining accounts are more liberal, moreover, the availability bank deposit may be the basis for obtaining a loan on favorable terms.

Perhaps some readers will have a question: "Why open deposits in foreign banks at all?" But many of those who are interested in this article, most likely, have already decided everything for themselves.

In fact, there can be many reasons: some savings abroad are needed to pay for education, others - for real estate, many simply want to keep their money in the most reliable banks. Our compatriots are also attracted to foreign credit institutions by high professionalism, confidentiality and security. Although there are also disadvantages, the main of which will be the lower interest rate and a rather complicated registration procedure.

Features of opening an account

So what do you need to know for those who decided to open a deposit abroad?

Firstly, in most cases, this will require your personal presence at the bank's office. True, sometimes you can do without it. Some organizations have representative offices in Russia, which take over the organizational work, practicing the visit of a specialist. However, their services are available only to very wealthy clients who are ready to deposit a rather impressive amount. Another option is when a representative of a specialized agency goes to the bank himself to open an account with certified powers of attorney. Also, documents can be sent by mail, but not all banks agree to such conditions.

Secondly, required package documents will differ from what Russian banks require. You need to be prepared for the fact that you will have to confirm not only your identity, but also the legality of the income received. The majority of Russians who want to open a deposit abroad are by no means ordinary citizens, which means that the identification and control procedure will be extremely thorough and may take not a single day or even a week. Well, the amount needs to be prepared rather large, since the size of the down payment in many foreign banks is very solid.

Legal Notice

Those who can convince a foreign bank of the transparency of their income and successfully complete the procedure for opening an account need to know that such transactions in Russia are subject to currency control and are regulated by various regulatory documents... For example, Federal Law No. 173-FZ "On currency regulation and currency control"Instructs to notify tax authorities on opening (closing) an account in a foreign state no later than one month in advance. Otherwise, you may simply be refused to open a deposit.

Not the most pleasant moment will be the impact Federal law No. 194-FZ dated November 12, 2012. It provides for penalties for Russian citizens who decided to transfer their income received outside of Russia to an account in a foreign bank, bypassing the banks of our country. Such income must be "channeled" in transit through Russian accounts, otherwise you will be fined from 75 to 100 percent of the total amount. This procedure is not only quite troublesome, but also fraught with additional commissions.

Calculation of taxes

Another nuance when opening a foreign account is the taxation of the profit received, that is, interest on the deposit. V Tax Code it is indicated that interest received in banks on deposits is taxed if the amount annual rate exceeds the refinancing rate, increased by five (for ruble deposits) or 9 points (for deposits in foreign currency).

It would seem that the same rule should be applied to foreign deposits, but this is not the case.

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, by its letter dated April 4, 2013, explains that the bank is a credit institution that has a license The central bank, and consequently, foreign banks do not fall under this definition. It follows from this that the interest received from placing a deposit in a foreign bank is taxed at the rate of 13%, which, in combination with low rates, is quite affordable.

Bank selection

Having understood the procedure for opening a deposit a little, you can go directly to the choice of an organization to which you are ready to entrust your capital. First of all, let's pay attention to the countries that are especially popular among Russian depositors.

Swiss banks have been the benchmark for quality banking services combining high professionalism, stability and reliability. The activities of these credit institutions is under control National Bank Switzerland together with the Federal bank commission... All of them are divided into several groups with a rather sharp delineation of functionality.

More than 50% of the volume financial services falls in two large banks world leaders: UBS and Credit Suisse. For ordinary depositors, cantonal banks are of greater interest, offering a full range of services with a focus on lending and deposits, as well as regional financial institutions and banks of the Raiffeisen group. There are also private banks - some of the oldest in Switzerland, but they mostly serve a fairly narrow circle of wealthy clients.

To open an account in a Swiss bank, you will need an impressive amount. And deposit rates are at a fairly low level, in the range of 1-2 percent per annum, but you can try to increase profitability by engaging in investments or trading on the stock exchange. Such an opportunity online is provided to its clients, for example, by Credit Suisse.

Among Russians, banks in Luxembourg are also popular, which have many of the advantages of Swiss organizations, but with great privileges for foreigners. Financial institutions in Luxembourg account for about 25% of the gross domestic product and 6-8 percent of the world's offshore capital. Recently, however, there has been talk of making the Duchy's banks more transparent in order to combat tax evasion. Deposit rates are higher here than in Switzerland - 4-6 percent, plus a wide range of different investments to maximize your income. The DEXIA bank is especially loyal to the Russians. He makes rather mild requirements for paperwork and has Russian-speaking specialists on his staff.

A worldwide correspondent network with many intermediaries makes Cypriot banks very accessible. And despite the recent crisis, they continue to be popular. Nevertheless, the negative consequences remained, including the reduction in interest rates on deposits, which are at the level of 3-5 percent.

Latvian banks offer a win-win: high-quality service combined with low service rates. It is not even necessary to go there to open an account, and you can manage it remotely, most often using Russified programs. One of the most popular is ABLV Bank, which opens deposits with a small down payment... However, the decline in rates could not be avoided here, on average, the yield on deposits is about 3-3.5 percent.

"Where is it profitable to invest money?" - this question is now more relevant than ever. Economic instability taught our compatriots to be financially accurate. There are options, it seems, and a lot. But, unfortunately, they cannot guarantee the depositor not only a profit, but, in some cases, even the safety of his funds. Manufacturing and stocks are too risky. Precious metals and antiques do not promise fast and high profitability, and they require a certain qualification from the investor in this area. Banks remain. Over the past year and a half, rates on deposits in domestic banks have dropped significantly. However, there are also foreign banks. Compare.ru found out how attractive their offers are and who might be interested in them.

Abroad won't help us

To begin with, it is worth clarifying that foreign banks operating on the territory of our country, in fact, are officially Russian banks. You cannot open an account abroad through them. They can only give a certificate that you are a client of this bank in Russia. Now there are many law firms offering mediation in the opening of overseas accounts. They make out everything Required documents and send them to the bank for consideration, but the services of such firms are expensive (on average, from $ 1,000) and are targeted only at very wealthy clients. To open an account abroad without intermediaries, you need to contact the branches of the bank of your choice abroad. In theory, any citizen of our country can do this. Domestic laws do not prevent this. True, there is a caveat. A deposit in a foreign bank is possible only to save funds, but not in any way to carry out entrepreneurial activities. Also, according to the law, it is necessary to notify the Russian tax authorities about the desire to open an account abroad. It is quite difficult to comply with all the procedures, and the benefit, not the fact that it will be more than from a deposit in a Russian bank.

First, foreign banks, sadly, are not eager to attract our compatriots as clients. Many credit institutions they simply do not accept money from Russian depositors. Those that accept may require additional documents: recommendations from the place of work or from Russian banks, a certificate from tax service... In addition, a foreign bank can produce additional check"purity" of your savings through Interpol or FATF (Special financial commission on the problems of money laundering).

Secondly, the minimum deposit amount in foreign banks is much higher than in Russian ones. As a rule, it cannot be less than 10,000 euros. Sometimes it is several tens, or even hundreds of times larger. The latter applies, for example, to the well-known Swiss banks (the minimum deposit amount in them is 250-500 thousand dollars).

Now about the benefits. Deposits abroad are by no means a way to make money, but an opportunity to preserve savings. Interest rates on deposits there are significantly lower than in Russia. In Europe it is approximately 0.5-2%, in the USA and Canada - 1.5-3.5%. You also need to take into account that you will have to pay for opening and servicing a deposit in Europe significant amount... Opening and maintenance from 500 to 2000 dollars per year. And making payments from 30 to 100 dollars. In America, rates are lower, but still significantly higher than Russian ones. Naturally, such sky-high rates make small investments meaningless.

Who can benefit from

The main advantages of foreign banks are their reliability and confidentiality. Of course, the risk of losing your savings is still present, but traditionally it is believed that it is an order of magnitude lower than in Russian banks. The statement, at first glance, seems controversial, but if you remember what amounts of deposits are in question, then you have to agree with it. That is, deposits abroad may be of interest, first of all, to people who want to save the accumulated money. Moreover, the amount should be significant and greatly exceed 700,000 rubles. (the insured amount under the Deposit Insurance System).

Also, a foreign bank account can be useful for those who have large spending abroad. For example, tuition fees, purchase valuable papers foreign companies or the purchase of real estate. It is not worth opening an account in a foreign bank for small purchases or making current settlements in a small amount. It is likely that the conveniences gained will not cover the cost of opening and maintaining an account.

As for confidentiality, in connection with the latest events in the world, no one can guarantee it now. However, the level of information security varies from country to country. The banks of Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria hold the palm in this matter. The most "open" from this point of view are the banks of the USA and Germany.

Where is easier

From the point of view of Russian depositors, the most attractive countries for opening an account are Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Cyprus. Moreover, if the banks of the first four countries impose rather strict requirements on depositors, then Cypriot banks are loyal to potential clients from Russia. The latter also applies to the Baltic banks. Minimum deposit amounts in Cyprus and the Baltics are much lower than in Western Europe. Some banks in Cyprus and the Baltic countries have representative offices in Russia. Financial transactions these representations do not have the right to engage, but they will provide assistance in opening a deposit. The procedure is standard for all. Come to the dealership, fill out required papers, which are sent to the head office of the bank, there the application is considered, and with a positive verdict, a current account is opened for you, to which you transfer money. In the case of a personal presence, there should be no special problems with opening a deposit in the banks of the Scandinavian countries and Hungary. Also, many banks in Germany and Denmark work with our citizens. Banks in Great Britain are considered the most closed for residents of Russia. It is almost impossible to open an account with them.

Deposits in foreign banks are a rather specific thing. Moreover, they are intended not for making a profit, but for preserving their savings. To make a profit, if we talk about investing money abroad, it is much more interesting investment funds and company. But that's a completely different story.