Everything You Need to Know About Opening Your Own Offshore Bank

Banks are the repository of all wealth and jewelry, and the rulers of the modern world are the heads of the world's central banks. Everyone has known this for a long time. But this does not mean that it is an unattainable forbidden fruit that is available only to a select elite. Of course, this is partly true, but if you are a sufficiently motivated entrepreneur who owns a certain amount of capital, then everything is in your hands.

For example, the well-known offshore Nevis, which is famous for its reliability and confidentiality before the crisis in 2008, offered those who wanted to open a bank for only 50 thousand US dollars. However, when a wave of liquidity from the US Federal Reserve flooded the market, such schemes became dangerous. The main threat was that such banks made it possible to create "chains of garbage banks" to divert large amounts of funds that quickly entered the market. To stop this process, the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has taken a number of measures to close the possibility of quickly creating low-cost banks.

Yes, the world has changed, but the past is no longer as interesting as the present or the future. More important are today's conditions for opening a bank in the offshore industry. The crisis begins to recede, everything changes, but there are also those jurisdictions that can still offer pre-crisis conditions for opening a bank. It is none other than Belize and the Seychelles. The conditions for opening a bank in these two jurisdictions are similar.

Firstly, it is necessary to place a deposit in the central bank of an offshore jurisdiction in the amount of 1 to 1.5 million US dollars. Next, there is a requirement for the equipment of your future bank and P.O. This equipment, together with the P.O., must amount to an amount of 300 to 700 thousand US dollars. As for the terms of obtaining a banking license, this procedure will take about 1 year. And finally, what unites not only these two jurisdictions, but all countries of the world where it is possible to obtain a banking license, is a total check of the origin of funds.

If you are ready to comply with all the conditions, then let's talk about the procedure for creating a bank.

First, it is very important to decide on the format of the bank. Yes, yes, with the format of a bank. Many people who are not particularly enlightened in banking may assume that all banks are the same and offer the same package of services, but this is nothing more than a pure delusion.

There are five functional groups: credit, market, settlement, retail banks, as well as financial institutions focused on interbank relations. You need to choose one of the specializations, or create a universal bank. However, a universal bank will require the greatest amount of effort to create such a financial institution. But as the saying goes, you can't catch a fish out of the pond without difficulty. A universal bank is a goldfish that will attract the maximum number of customers that you can serve.

Now that you have decided on the form of the bank, now it's time to move on to the legal aspects. A banking license is required. A bank is like the East, it's a delicate matter. Here it is necessary to obtain an impressive package of constituent documents, licenses and approvals that will ensure the successful existence of the bank in the international market. The most important are certificates of fiscal and tax registration, a general banking license issued by the Central Bank, a license to carry out operations in the securities market, a license to conduct transactions with precious metals, etc.

Finally, you have mastered the most painstaking process of obtaining all permits and licenses, now you can think about the range of services that your bank will provide. The most common or so to speak, standard are:

• opening and maintenance of accounts;
• settlements, payment transactions;
• settlement and cash services;
• Collection;
• currency transactions (purchase and sale) in cash or non-cash form;
• direct money transfers (without opening an account);
• transactions with bank cards, traveler's cheques;
• depository operations;
• Consulting on financial issues.

Only the last and most important question remains, and how much does it cost? Everything is quite vague here. Most likely, this question can only be answered by someone who has already opened a bank. In addition to the authorized capital, there are a lot of aspects that affect the final cost, for example, the cost of premises, office and banking equipment, legal registration, hiring and remuneration of personnel, creating a reliable security system and much, much more.

A bank is certainly a big expense, but also an incredible income. Many experts have calculated that the bank can really pay off in 5-10 years of its existence. This business is very serious and certainly requires the help of specialists who will help you make a market assessment, forecast and generally tell you what and how to do it correctly.