Le Knapp: Asset Protection with Swiss Banking

Swiss banking is a really fantastic way to protect your assets on many different levels. I am not referring to UBS and Credit Suisse, but protection in conjunction with your asset protection plan. We are moving assets when we are talking about Swiss banking to a Swiss bank inside of your asset protection trust. This is the ultimate layer of protection in your asset protection plan. Not every lawyer in Utah can tell you about these things, but at Ascent Law, we take your asset protection strategy seriously.

Swiss private banking gives you possession physically outside of the country and legal title outside of your asset protection plan. You have control, but your assets are not there to be grabbed. It also does something else which I’ve become very aware of and concerned with in the last four years and that’s the actual safety of the banks and institutions we hold out money in.

Institutional Risk

I sent out a letter at the end of last year stating my concern around institutional risk. Institutional risk means that the bank that you hold your money in is not there one day or is in bankruptcy and you can’t get your money immediately or your money at all. Five years ago banking failures was something you would talk about in the context of the past. Since modern banking, modern financing, and modern governments we haven’t had any banking failures to speak or and certainly nobody lost any money.

When 2008 came around people lost money. Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns went under. Many people lost lots of money during this time and are only getting a fraction of their money back. Anything less than 100% is unacceptable. One of my main concerns about US banks is the tier 1 capital ratios. Switzerland solves this because their banking system is incredibly safe. Their tier 1 capital ratios are five times what we have in the United States. There’s personal liabilities of the partners and executives of the bank for customer’s money.

Common Questions About Swiss Bank Accounts

What’s the minimum to open up a Swiss bank account?

The minimum is one million dollars, although an account can be opened with half a million dollars if the bank is aware that it is a starting balance and the customer is going to be adding more.

Do you pay taxes on a Swiss account?

Many people think or have been told that they don’t pay taxes on something until you bring it back to the US, but the truth is because the United States has worldwide taxation, you pay taxes on all the money you earn worldwide. If you have your money in a Swiss bank and you don’t earn any dividend or interest you don’t pay any taxes, but if you do the Swiss bank will issue you a 1099 just like a US bank would.

How many different currencies can you hold in a Swiss bank account?

You can hold 22 different currencies in your Swiss account. This can be a combination of all the hard currencies around the world as well as just one or a few. You also have the luxury of holding individual physical things in your own segregated vault or box.

Although it’s very difficult for a US citizen to get a Swiss bank account, for our clients we still are able to. I recommend it because of the tremendous benefits that come with it.