Opening a European Bank Account

I like many others am disillusioned with the Irish Banking System.
I feel my hard earned money would be alot safer in a German or French Bank.
Can anyone tell how would go about opening such an account.
Can I do it on line or will I have go in person.

dutch bank http://www.rabodirect.ie/

Carolina said:

dutch bank http://www.rabodirect.ie/

Click to expand...

int rates are very low by comparision though.

The Irish Government has guaranteed the Irish Banking System. The is not one single example (in Ireland/Europe) of a depositor losing a cent. To allow this would be a disaster.

Your money is as safe here as anywhere else.

i agree with blackberry... cash is safe here at the moment... have recently seen some int rates for citibank and they are lower than here.. so not worth the hassle...

In the eventuality of a total collapse in the Irish Banking Sector, has the government the funding to repay all monies on deposit. If that's not possible, surely the Guarantee Scheme is simply an Endorsement?

The guarantee scheme covers €440bn of deposits. The state could never pay out €440bn as it's about 14 years worth of tax revenue.

You could speculate that the ECB or IMF might help out but they could well require some losses on the part of retail depositors. Banking crises in other countries have led to retail depositor losses and long years of limbo waiting for bank liquidators to decide who gets what. The IMF has a report summarising past banking crises and their results if you want to read it.

The Irish banks have lower credit ratings than some other European banks and these ratings reflect the market's view of their likelihood of defaulting on their obligations.

Rabobank is now amongst the best rated banks in the world and you can set up your account online from here. Or else try HSBC offshore internet banking in Jersey.

You get lower rates but you have a lower risk of losing your capital.

I totally agree with Carolina's last comment and am totally amazed that the vast amount of people with Irish Bank deposits are not concerned about their hard earned cash. I wonder why this basic point hasn't been brought up before by media. The verdict appears to be Endorsement rather than Guarantee!