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Prior to opening an account and safety box in CR, I would appreciate information regarding what readers consider the most reliable banks.
The nationally chartered banks are protected by the government by a form of insurance akin to what’s provided in the U.S. by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The private banks have no such insurance. The question is about the government’s ability to actually guaranteed deposits should one of the chartered banks fail. In recent years, none (chartered or private) has.
That said, were it my problem, I would not keep huge sums of money in any Costa Rican bank, chartered or otherwise, if I had access to an insured bank in the U.S. Why risk it? It’s easy enough to move living expense money from the U.S. to Costa Rica as needed.
Someone I knew wanted a safety deposit box and inquired at Banco Nacional in Grecia. What the bank had to offer amounted to a locked metal box like you might buy in an stationery store which they would keep in a locked file cabinet. There was no such thing as the safety deposit boxes we’re used to in the U.S. banks.
Does anyone have any experience with Scotiabank in Costa Rica? I have transferred money from a Scotiabank in Canada to a branch in Costa Rica and it worked really well. I was just wondering if a person could have a Canadian based account with them and have a CR account with one of their branches there. Moving money around could be done on the internet potentially too.
I have always said that people should only keep 6 months worth of living expenses in banks here especially if they also own their own home in Costa Rica but are you saying that US banks are safer than Costa Rica banks David? 🙂
“NEW YORK – Regulators have shut down Cape Fear Bank — the first North Carolina bank to collapse since 1993, and the 22nd U.S. bank to fail this year.” (2009)
[ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090410/ap_on_bi_ge/bank_closures ]
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comDavid Have you forgotten about the Banco Anglo, the oldest Costa Rican bank, during the Figueres Olsen presidency. They just closed the doors. I think everyone got paid but maybe in devalued colones. Maybe Pepito will be back from Europe when his situation prescribes (another situation) so be carefull. Pura Vida y life in the tropics.
scott
what strategy would you suggest to keep $$$$ when you live here and also have homes here. back in the U.S???
The Fed is shutting down two banks per week in the US. The rate appears to be on the move upward too.
orcas06, I was not aware of the failure of Banco Anglo. When was that? And I’m assuming that Banco Anglo was a private, non-chartered, bank, right?
Scott, I do think that the U.S. government is in a better position to stand behind the FDIC than the Costa Rican government is to stand behind its guarantees. If I had an amount of money that was important to me to secure, I’d be keeping it in a bank other than here in Costa Rica. Or else I’d be spreading it around.
Edited on Apr 15, 2009 08:16
For Canadians, Scotiabank is a great choice because it is just like having your branch in CR. Makes things streamlined. The biggest issue for us is when you are outside of the central valley, most all the banks are either BN or BCR, especially in the smaller communities. ATM’s have made access to cash very easy anywhere in the world, but if you need several thousand $, you need a bank where you have an account. I asked the question earlier on another blog on this site regarding the limits of deposit insurance in CR akin to FDIC, FSLIC and NCUA in the US. Personally, all my banking in US is with a large non-profit credit union…no more “for profit” banks.
David: The Banco Anglo Costarricense was the oldest state owned bank in Costa Rica, est. in 1863 and shut down in 1994 by José Figueres Olsen. The Chilean bros. Lopez Gomez, who now live happily after in Chile, managed to break the bank via a bond scam. (they had a lot of help from some corrupt Ticos) some of whom are still in “La Reforma” and maybe others are selling condos on The Gold Coast. Here’s a link to a site in Spanish with some more info
http://lafiestadelcerdo-2002.es.tripod.com/lafiestadelcerdo/id101.html Pura Vida and life in the tropics.And since the Banco Anglo Costarricense was State-owned, like Banco Nacional & Banco de Costa Rica, all depositors were indeed FULLY compensated, just like the FDIC would do in the US. Private banks operating in Costa Rica have no such government guaranty.
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