bank account for foreigners

[tiebushan]

Hi,

Is there any bank in Singapore that allows foreigners to open bank account? most of them asks for your working visa or PR in order to open a bank account.
Thanks

[ecureilx]

Hi,

Is there any bank in Singapore that allows foreigners to open bank account? most of them asks for your working visa or PR in order to open a bank account.
Thanks

errr.. try Citi or HSBC or RBS (or what did RBS become of late ?? )

They are more open to opening accounts for foreigners

if from India, you can approach the Full Indian Banks !

[tiebushan]

ok, thanks for the info.

[Wd40]

More info here:
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/viewtopic.php?t=95695

[Wd40]

.... RBS (or what did RBS become of late ?? )...

ANZ bought it in 2010:

http://asianbankingandfinance.net/branc ... -singapore

[ecureilx]

.... RBS (or what did RBS become of late ?? )...

ANZ bought it in 2010:

http://asianbankingandfinance.net/branc ... -singapore

[JR8]

Hi,

Is there any bank in Singapore that allows foreigners to open bank account? most of them asks for your working visa or PR in order to open a bank account.
Thanks

What visa status are you on?

[Strong Eagle]

If you know a current account holder in good standing who will vouch for you, I know that UOB will open an account for you without an employment pass, just a passport.

[tiebushan]

hmmm, I just read these articles

http://rt.com/business/157148-ban-tax-s ... singapore/
http://www.establishmentpost.com/singap ... ed-states/
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c9e09448 ... ab7de.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/ ... HO20141215
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014241 ... 0792267516

could these be the reasons why it's so hard now for foreigners to open bank account in Singapore? does this mean Singapore Banking Secrecy Acts has disappeared?

[Wd40]

Do you have any plans to do some money laundering? Why do you care about banking secrecy?

[JR8]

Do you have any plans to do some money laundering? Why do you care about banking secrecy?

It's not only tax/illegal funds laundering. Banks really do their best to weed that out [really!].

What's more of a concern is mail interception. You're 'Mr. S' in Jakarta, your post gets stolen by the postman, since you have a nice address. Next thing your family is held hostage by some loony terrorist organisation demanding you balance of $3.45mm ransom.

This is why such clients were categorised by us as 'Hold All Mail' ['HAM']. Their statements were held by the office, until the clients periodically came in for tea and biscuits. Not at all ideal, but required. This also applied across most/all of our Middle-Eastern branches, 'despot Latin America', and so on.

This was how Nick Leeson thrived. He forged big Indon client HAM statements operating via Barings Singapore. Those customers received few if any statements, and only then all with 'good news'.... back in pre-internet/online days I suppose to a person like him, they were ripe for the plucking.

Go back further to Switzerland and the Nazis. Banking secrecy does have a purpose, protecting your wealth vs tyrants. Rather ironic that one person, Leeson, turned that on it's head.

[ecureilx]

This is why such clients were categorised by us as 'Hold All Mail' ['HAM']. .

In a nearby country HAM or sort of the reverse of it, claiming client's mailing address is wrong and Mails are being returned ... is used as an excuse by at least one bank staff, to wipe out the customer's money ... when the innocent Joe goes to the bank enquiring about his balance he is told the bank rule no x, y or z allows the bank to freeze the account and that's it when in reality it is the staff who have pocketed the money ..

The seem to go after accounts with say less than 2k USD balances ... with no activity for few months .. where Mr Joe visits that country once a year ..

True story ....

[JR8]

.... and that was Lesson's game. HAM clients were (generally ) incommunicado; or either just f***ing incompetent, or so damn rich they didn't know where the money was oozing from.

I never got back then why he did what he did*, but now I'm a lot closer to seeing why. He wasn't the instigator, merely the channel.

Time/place/surreal eff-up.


[Glad I was on the fringe of it, crazy, enlightening. But also glad that he was no closer to me than he was - him and his crazy mates, Bubble and Ches >>> mental-fun but not... much ... future.... [wince]].


* Yes, I get the immediate stuff. But I don't believe there was anything deeper...

[JR8]

Could the likes of Nick Leeson happen again?

Good question. Yes, phhhh, no. I think the place has become way more subtle than it was at that time. The state and 'law and order' used to be a bludgeoning sledgehammer back in those days .... [flares eyes]

[tiebushan]

Do you have any plans to do some money laundering? Why do you care about banking secrecy?

banking secrecy = privacy.
Every Australians and every other civilized people from advanced civilization hold this thing very dearly. This is the cornerstone of our democracy. I know most of Asian countries don't really consider this an important issues, and they should, and I always though Singapore as one of the advanced Asian countries.
without banking secrecy, it's easier for anybody to know if you're rich or poor. If you're rich, you'll be vulnerable to blackmail, jealousy, etc. Hey, that guy is rich and I'm poor, and therefore I must get some of his money. And if you're poor, you'll be laughed at and treated as a failure. So without banking secrecy, everybody loses.
This statement is too narrow-minded because banking secrecy is not always related to illegal activities. If you live in a bankrupt country and the government decides to "acquire" the rich guys' money with any means necessary, banking secrecy can at least prevent them from compiling a list of people to harass for money.