Nov/093
London, Delaware Top List Of Secretive Tax Havens
Both London city and the US state of Delaware scored highly in an objective ranking of secrecy jurisdictions, confirming what many had expected - the war against tax havens is a farce.
The US State of Delaware Is Home To Many A Tax Free Company
Despite calls for greater “opacity” from smaller countries, it was confirmed that the US state of Delaware is the most secretive tax haven in the world, an extremely embarassing blow for Obama´s anti-tax haven legislation.
US authorities already knew about this of course..so why haven´t they got round to doing something about it? Because..if they did that foreign investors would leave the US in droves.
The Financial Secrecy Index (FSI), is a report compiled by the Tax Justice Network, which attempts to objectively rank worldwide jurisdictions for the amount of financial transparency they offer.Two measures, an “opacity” score and a weighting are combined to give the overall Financial Secrecy Index score.
Interestingly, the Tax Justice Network calls for many of thes same things as high-tax countries, namely that tax havens should open up their Secrecy Legislation. But while the US government and OECD only want the “little tax haven countries” to give up their secrecy laws, the TJN wants this to happen wordlwide, irregardless of nationality. Hence, “tax justice”.
How did other countries fare?
Switzerland (3) the Cayman Islands (4) both achieved a respectable rank, while London was revealed at no.5. Surprisingly, traditional “tax havens” like Panama and Nevis were much further down the list, ranking 19th and joint 46th respectively.
Click for full Financial Secrecy Index.
Oct/090
Singapore Private Banking Catching Up With Swiss Private Banking
Is it for real?
So Singapore private banking has experienced huge growth over the last 10 years or so. With 300Bn in managed wealth, Singapore is reckoned to manage 5% of worldwide private banking assets.
This has much to do with Singapore’s strict privacy laws, but also just as much to do with the rise in the number of millionaries throughout Asia.
Yet the mass exodus of assets from Switzerland to Singapore hasn’t happened yet. The Swiss stand strong with 25% of the world’s private wealth under their prudent guardianship. 5 times as much as the Singapore.
So what’s the deal? Keep reading this singapore private banking article.
Oct/090
Will Private Offshore Banks Keep Your Account Confidential?
Everyone knows that private banks are supposed to be more ”hush hush” than your average bank. Private banking outfits in countries with strong bank secrecy like the Cayman Islands, Switzerland and Panama are expected to keep a low profile. But is the private bank really as secretive as it appears?
Various factors come into play here.
- Where the bank is located.
- Does the bank have operations in foreign countries (and outside the jurisidiction of its home secrecy laws)?
- The size of the bank
Continue reading this informative article on private offshore banks.
Oct/090
Are You Worred About The Future? Swiss Banks Share Your Pain!
Ever worried about what 2010 holds in store for you?
Swiss private banks are feeling the same..according to a survey conducted by Geneve Place Financiere, a body representing Swiss financial firms.
Solitary Swiss banks feel the pain
Relaxation of bank secrecy, less enthusiastic European and US investors, and OECD bullying have contributed to a gloomier than usual outlook for next year.
“The dominant sentiment coming from this survey on the present and future of the financial centre is mitigated, even pessimistic,” said Ivan Pictet, the group’s president.
The Swiss also have reason to feel sorry for themselves - they say the financial crisis was not their doing, but the fault of larger European neighbours and the US.
”The Swiss financial centre has been the victim”, said Pictet, who is also senior partner of a large swiss private bank.
Survey participants indicated that short-term prospects would not improve in any private banking sector, but drew hope from increasing numbers of Middle-Eastern and Russian depositors.
Oct/090
Singapore Private Banking: Clients Prefer ´´Self-Directed´´ Investment
Every savvy investor knows that even the most trusted private bank is prone to plugging its own products. While some private banking clients are happy to take a back seat, more and more are looking to direct their own investments, and take responsibility for risks. This is the message coming from Singapore private banking investors, according to delegates at the Reuters Global Wealth Management Summit held this 5-7th October in international financial centres worldwide.
Singapore Private Banking - Clients Like To Be In The Driving Seat
Excellent financial advice equals financial peace of mind, ideally HNWI´s can invest in creating a secure and comfortable future for themselves and their families - but even investing with notable global private banks might not fulfill that need. Fortunately, by the end of this article you will know exactly how to get private banking that´s not fueled by over-priced, under-performing products.
According to analysts, big banks like UBS are not operating the correct business model, particularly within the Asian market. A focus on product sales rather than improving advice and portfolio performance leads to a failure to build long-term client relationships.
“The challenge is to provide real quality advice that will make the difference,” says Justin Ong, head of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Asia Pacific wealth management in Singapore.
Instead, offshore private banking needs to put more resources into providing top notch trust and estate planning services, a market with great potential for growth as first generation Asian entrepreneurs age, analysts say.
“The challenge is to provide real quality advice that will make the difference,” said Ong.
Additionally Asian clients are looking to make their own decisions regarding FX and the stockmarkets.
“It is very common for us in Asia to have a client who is CEO of a large corporation or a billionaire who takes personal decisions in FX or trades FX actively or trades fixed-income or whatever he is investing in,” said Debashish Dutta Gupta, Citigroup head of investments for Asia-Pacific wealth management.
More standalone, streamlined private banking services are popping up to fill the demand. One example is Capital Conservator, which offers private bank accounts in multiple-currencies with trading facilities, promising total privacy and total investor control. An important benefit is that Capital Conservator does not sell any of its own investment products, leaving the focus on pure banking. With a reasonable 1% entry rate, this self-directed private bank account, may well be the future of private banking.
Oct/090
Independent Wealth Manager OR Private Bank Attached To A Global Investment Bank - Which Is Best?
Are you better investing with a smaller independent firm, or one of the global organisations like UBS, Citigroup or J.P.Morgan?
Before the credit crunch, the big financial institutions lured investors with the strength of their investment banking arms. The idea being - if bankers were clever enough to make billions with the investment banking side, they could work the same magic with a private bank account.
But the last couple of years have shown a change in policy after huge write-downs at investment banks, and some like Lehmann Brothers or Bear Sterns going down altogether. When big investment banks like UBS suffered in the sub-prime mortgage crisis their private banking arms took a reputation hit.
The big financial institutions argue that they offer a “one-stop-shop” if you will, and can offer a broader range of financial services which are difficult to replicate in a smaller organisation.The bank can attend to not only the client’s personal needs but also those of his company.
Most of all, big banks market their “in-house” experts and teams of reseachers who can help their private banking clients stay one step ahead.
Smaller private banks and trusts take an opposing view. What they offer is a more open system whereby clients pick and choose from a range of external invesment products. In many cases these very same independent private banks are clients of the large financial services companies.
Oct/090
Mexico Asks US for Offshore Bank Account Data
When the US achieved a degree of success in targeting their own tax evaders with accounts at Swiss private banks, Mexico hoped to do something along the same lines. It may come as a shock to many that the vast majority of foreign deposits by wealthy Mexicans are not stored in Switzerland, Panama or the Cayman Islands, but the US.
In a letter to US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner in Febuary, Mexican Finance secretary Agustin Carstens sought help for his fight against tax cheats. Some wealthy Mexicans had deposited in American banks he said, knowing that it would not be reported.
The US does not tax interest paid to non-resident aliens, and Mexico currently has no way of identifying its citizens with US deposits.
More on this story - usa today article.
Sep/090
Chavez Urges Private Banks To Broaden Client Base
Venenzuelan President Hugo Chavez urged private banks to look further afield than the financial sector on state tv this Monday, reports news agency EFE.
Chavez Wants To Change Private Banking Attitudes
Chavez said he hopes for a private banking blueprint that will allow private banks to work together with the Venezuelan government towards developing the country, rather than solely focusing on the financial sector.
”Private banking has to support the country rather than the other way round,” he said adding that a policy aimed solely at the financial markets was what provoked the current financial crisis.
After the economic slowdown (a contraction of 2.4% in the second quarter, after 22 consecutive quarters of growth), increasing inflation, and the difference between official and actual dollar rates, ”financial intermediation is the 4th biggest problem in the country,” he said.
”We have to open up a dialogue with private banks, because financial intermediation is well below where it should be; here we have a constitution, there are laws and therefore we have to make sure they comply with them,” he added.
Chavez further added that private banking was ”one of the sectors which has profited most” during his decade in power and called for the private banks to ‘’share the profits”.
Sep/090
Uruguay Bank Secrecy
The recurrent theme of bank secrecy in Uruguay continues to surface as Presidential elections in the country draw closer. For those with an eye on Uruguay private banking this will prove interesting..
Uruguyan newsportal espectador.com reports left-wing Presidential candidate Jose Mujica indicating that he is open to discuss the future of bank secrecy within the Mercosur.
”Son cuestiones que habrá que negociar dentro del Mercosur: cuál va a ser el modelo financiero que vamos a llevar, si vamos a mantener o no vamos a mantener el secreto bancario o secreto tributario” -
Presidential Candidate Jose Mujica is Ready To End Bank Secrecy In Uruguay
”These are questions which will have to be negotiated within Mercosur: which financial model which we are going to use, and whether or not we are going to maintain bank secrecy or tax secrecy,” said Mujica in an interview pulished by reuters.
It is not the first time Mujica has threatened to change bank secrecy, an issue which had previously provoked differences in primary elections between himself and aspiring Frente Amplio candidate Danilo Astori.
Uruguay is being pressured by neighbours Argentina and Brasil to water down bank secrecy. Argentina especially is concerned that its wealthy citizens have made high-value property purchases in Uruguayan beach resorts like Punta Del Este, without reporting them to authorities.
Opposition candidate and former President Luis Alberto Lacalle has pledged to keep bank secrecy for the forseeable future. Recent polls show the two candidates benefiting from equal support ahead of elections scheduled for October.
Sep/090
UK and Switzerland Amend Double Taxation Treaty
Swiss Bank Secrecy Threatened Again - What Are the Alternatives?
Swiss and UK authorities added to an existing double taxation treaty on Thursday by agreeing to OECD standards for transparency and information exchange. It is expected that the new treaty, if and when it comes into force, will be used to help combat tax evasion.
The agreement is part of a worrying relaxation of bank secrecy in Switzerland, coming after the release of confidential account details to both France and the US. This latest agreement has the capacity to affect even those who have no relation with the UK, if the UK manages to pass on information which it has discovered about the citizens of other countries.
Since March, Switzerland has operated a new policy concerning international cooperation in tax matters, and agreed to adopt article 26 of the OECD Model Double Tax Convention.
Despite the worrying signs, there is still hope. Although the Swiss government has agreed this treaty, it must still ratified by the Swiss internally. Furthermore, laws in Switzerland are subject to a referendum and repeal with a petition of 50,000 signatures. For Swiss citizens, it must seem the benefits of keeping bank secrecy surely outweigh the disadvantages.
Even so, privacy-seekers are constantly on the lookout for alternatives which might still keep their identity confidential where a Swiss bank account fails. At the forefront of developing viable financial alternatives are offshore financial companies such as Capital Conservator - which manage to keep customer identities confidential irrespective of changes in bank secrecy.
Find out more about about confidential private banking and private bank accounts.
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