Switzerland, the King of Banking
When someone might be the next big thing in basketball, he is usually called the “new Michael Jordan.” When a singer has the potential to be the next worldwide pop star, people call him or her the “new Michael Jackson” or the “new Madonna.”
Well, in the banking world, that standard-bearer is Switzerland. For example, people call Panama the Switzerland of Latin America and Hong Kong, the Switzerland of the Far East.
But Switzerland is just Switzerland. There’s no discussion regarding what is the best banking jurisdiction in the world. People know Switzerland for five reasons: its chocolate, its watches, the Alps, Roger Federer, and its banks.
Switzerland is the best jurisdiction to keep your money safe, which means Swiss banks conduct exhaustive research on their potential clients. That keeps shady clients away from Swiss banks, and Switzerland safe from international pressure to stop nenforcing its asset protection standards.
Furthermore, you’re not only putting your money in the safest place in the world, but you’re also keeping it in one of the freest economies and most stable democracies in the world.
Switzerland is part of the European Economic Area, but not of the Eurozone or the European Union. That means Switzerland has the best of both worlds: its companies and citizens have little to none restrictions across Europe, but the EU Commission and the ECB bureaucrats cannot rule over Switzerland and its economy.
In fact, Switzerland wasn’t even part of the UN until 2002.
Why? Because Switzerland has a century-long tradition of political neutrality. That has made it one of the most stable countries in Europe and allowed it to be in a better position than most of the continent after two world wars.
Likewise, its particular political system, with healthy doses of federalism and direct democracy, prevents the rise of radical movements and revolutions in the country, giving it a long tradition of stability and the rule of law.
Aside from this stability, Switzerland is the freest economy in Europe and the 5th in the world. Private property is sacred; the country enjoys fantastic fiscal health and is widely open to free trade. Moreover, Switzerland has one of the friendliest tax systems in Europe with a top 11.5 % federal income tax rate and a flat 8.5 % corporate tax rate.
All this creates a favorable environment where the banking business has developed and plays a historical role as one of the backbones of the country, where all major political parties understand its essential role and support it against international pressure.
These elements benefit both foreigners and Swiss nationals that want to protect their assets and keep them safe in a top jurisdiction. Switzerland has an impeccable history. There hasn’t been a moment in modern Swiss history where the assets of the beneficiaries of Swiss banks have been in danger.
There’s a good reason why Swiss banks manage more than a quarter of cross-border-managed assets in the world and that the banking sector contributes more than 10 % of the country’s GDP.
In Switzerland, most banks open accounts in a wide array of currencies, including Swiss francs, clearly, US dollars, British pounds, and Euros. Likewise, all major banks allow non-residents to open bank accounts in the country, and even to do so remotely.
Switzerland is a VIP banking destination. That means restrictions are stringent, and opening a bank account in the country can be a bothersome process without a helping hand.
Banks try to keep their reputation as much as possible, which leads them to reject applicants for small details they may find suspicious and usually take a long while to verify each application.
Likewise, as Switzerland has more than 300 hundred financial institutions, some are Cantonal, others are Nationals; some accept non-residents, others don’t; some have terrific attention for foreigners, others don’t. You may feel a bit lost on what option suits you the best.
That’s where we can help you.
In Mundo Offshore, we can assist you in opening a corporate or personal bank account in Switzerland to help you conduct business freely. We offer multi-currency accounts that you can open and operate remotely. As usual, we work with a pre-approval system, which means we send your profile and documents to the banks we work with so they can previously establish if they are interested in it. This doesn’t guarantee they will accept your application, but it certainly increases your chances exponentially and saves time.
However, before getting into details, why should you open a bank account in Switzerland?
Why Switzerland? Seven Reasons Why you should open a bank account in Switzerland
The best banking jurisdiction on the planet
As we said, Switzerland is the Michael Jordan of banks. That’s a fact. It has the best service providers, with the best technology, and the asset protection levels on the whole planet. And that’s nothing new. It’s been like that for decades.
There’s a good reason why Switzerland holds more than 25 % of the cross-border managed assets in the whole world.
Do you want the best protection for your business? Then, you must go to the best banks in the world. It’s simple math.
A stable democracy with a rock-solid rule of law
Switzerland has a strictly neutral foreign policy. That has guaranteed the country’s stability for the last two centuries. Likewise, its unique federal system makes it one of the better-established democracies in the world.
Citizens trust the small yet efficient public administration, and the perception of corruption is amazingly low. That is incredibly rare today, where corruption scandals are common, and states are increasingly invasive.
One of the freest economies in the world
Switzerland is the 5th freest economy in the world and the freest in Europe according to the Index of Economic Freedom. Putting your money in Switzerland means your keeping it in one of the most dynamic jurisdictions on the planet and can be the first step for investing there.
The country isn’t part of the European Union, meaning you won’t be bothered by the invasive policies of the ECB and the EU Commission that want to regulate everything nowadays. However, Switzerland is part of the European Economic Area, which means it has the best of both worlds.
A favorable tax regime
Switzerland doesn’t only have one of the best tax rates in all of Europe (a top 11.5 % federal income tax rate and a flat 8.5 % corporate tax rate), but the system is amazingly simple.
Even as Switzerland has federal, cantonal, and communal taxes, which means the overall tax burden depends on where the person sets its residence. Still, it’s around 22-26 %, which is way lower than the OECD average (more than 35 %).
Pristine history
Banking is one of the backbones of the country. That is widely known. The political and economic stability the country has enjoyed for centuries. That has helped the financial sector to maintain its soundness. Likewise, it has aided it to resist international pressure to relax its secrecy and safety regulations.
It cannot be said that the investors’ money has been at risk on the Swiss banks at any time of its history. The country has the stringiest data protection laws in the whole world.
That’s the best reason why we recommend Switzerland as a banking destination.
The finest safety net
Governments are imposing capital controls all over the world overnight and banishing financial privacy.
This is not about tax evasion and even less about money laundering. It’s about diversifying risks through entirely legal means. You don’t know when your home country will introduce new capital controls, and it will be too late to take your assets away. A Swiss bank account is the closest to an insurance policy you’ll have.
Currency diversification
All Swiss private banks offer multi-currency accounts in the world’s strongest and most stable currencies. That’s not the case in many countries. Holding a variety of foreign currencies is sound financial advice, and Swiss banks allow you to do so. Moreover, you can save some of your money in Swiss francs, which has been one of the most stable currencies during the last two centuries.
Who are we, and how can we help you?
Our experts have 25 years of working with high-net-worth individuals and investors all over the world to help them conduct business in a free way.
We are one of the top providers of second passport services in the Caribbean and have offered top-notch financial and corporate services during that time all over the world.
In Mundo, our core value is freedom, a rare value, which is in serious danger nowadays. Governments increase regulations, taxes, and asphyxiate personal liberties with new excuses every day.
We want to help you protect your legacy with our invaluable network of experts and partners across the world who offer only the best services for their clients.
We offer banking services in Switzerland because we stand by our values of personal and financial freedom.
What can we do for you? We work with Swiss partner banks to open personal and corporate bank accounts.
Switzerland is a must if you want to lead your asset protection and business to the next level. However, opening a bank account in Switzerland without a professional helping hand can be incredibly tough.
And that’s where we come in.
First, we work with a pre-approval system. Other service providers say they conduct a background check or similar processes, but we take it a step further. We send your profile and a set of documents (more on that ahead) to our partner banks to see which of them may be interested in opening an account for you. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll accept you, but it certainly increases your possibilities exponentially.
Open a corporate bank account in Switzerland
Let’s first talk about the corporate bank account. As with most Swiss accounts, the one we offer is a multi-currency account, meaning you can receive, send, and monitor different currencies. Likewise, the minimum deposit to open the account is $10,000.
For the pre-approval and full process, we’ll need you to send the following documents in English:
● Pre-approval questionnaire (we’ll send it to you)
● Notarized copy of your passport
● Certified copy of proof of residence
Regarding your company’s documents, they vary whether the company is registered in a Common Law country or any other jurisdiction.
If it’s registered in a Common Law system, such as the UK, Australia, or New Zealand, you will need the following documents:
● Incorporation certificate
● Certificate of appointment of directors
● Certificate of shareholders
● Articles of association
● Financial statements (if the company was created more than one year ago)
● Good standing or incumbency certificate (if the company was created more than one year ago)
If the company is registered in any other jurisdiction (all documents should be notarized and issued less than one year ago):
● Notarial document of the constitution of the company and commercial registry
● Extract of the updated commercial registry with the current state of affairs of the company
● Financial statements
● Shareholders’ book with the updated share constitution capital.
The process is simple and it has four steps:
1. You send the scanned documents
2. We pass your profile through the pre-approval process.
3. If a bank is interested in it and you decide to continue the process, you must send all documents physically to us.
4. We prepare your application and send the documents and any other documents the bank may ask for.
From the moment we formally send the documents, you’ll have to wait at least 20 days for a response.
Open a personal bank account in Switzerland
Now, regarding the personal bank account, it is also a multi-currency account. The minimum deposit is $5,000.
We conduct the same pre-approval process, which means we’ll need the following scanned documents:
● Pre-approval questionnaire
● Notarized passport copy
● Notarized proof of residency
All documents must be sent in English. As with the corporate account, the process is simple:
1. You send your scanned documents to us
2. We pass your profile through the pre-approval process
3. If a bank is interested and you decide to continue the process, you send us your documents and forms physically
4. We submit your application and the documents to the bank
Again, as with the corporate account, from the moment we submit your application, the process takes at least 20 days.
Opening a bank account in Switzerland is increasingly difficult. But it is as difficult as it is necessary. It’s one of the best decisions you can make to keep your assets safe and secure the financial future of your family.
However, in Mundo Offshore, we can help make things simpler. We work with top-notch banks, and we can make the process swifter for you. So, what are you waiting for?
Contact us right now to open a bank account in Switzerland.
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