From: Mike Bailey <bailey@computek.net>
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 95 08:15:45 PDT
To: Enzo Michelangeli <enzo@ima.com>
Subject: Re: Zimmermann legal fund
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.3.91.950731115906.7803A-100000@ima.net>
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950731100140.4105A-100000@bambam.computek.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Mon, 31 Jul 1995, Enzo Michelangeli wrote:

> On Sun, 30 Jul 1995, Mike Bailey wrote:
> 
> > > The US banking industry has gone to the dogs. The day a non-US bank offers
> > > an account that can be accessed over the net will be the day I close my US
> > > accounts.
> > 
> > Interesting idea ...
> > 
> > 1st question or thing I would want to be certain of is the stability of the
> > currency of the realm so to speak. I wouldn't want to bank in a country that
> > had a weak currencey (sp) or was subject to roller coaster economics.  
> 
> How could it be worse than with the U.S. of A.?? ;-)
> 
> Seriously: you may bank in US Dollars (or other major currencies) in many
> countries, including all the offshore banking centres. Limited amounts of
> cash may be withdrawn using ATM dispensers, against a fee of two or three
> USD per operation; for larger amounts, you may ask them to wire money by
> SWIFT, Telex or bank drafts to other banks or genric payees. For such
> operations, most large banks accept instructions by snail mail, and
> sometimes by fax (if the customer signs a letter of indemnity exempting
> the bank from liabilities in case of forgeries). Sadly, AFAIK no bank is
> accepting digitally encrypted and signed e-mail instructions, and issuing 
> digitally encrypted and signed receipts.
> 
I'm feel that this type of banking is just around the corner with the coming
tidal wave of internet based commerce.

My primary concern would be something along this senario ... 

I open an account with U.S. $$ in a foreign bank who uses francs (don't
flame the denonimation or the choice this is just an exammple ;-) ... a month 
later the franc loses 20 % of it's value as compared to the U.S. dollar. If I 
close out my account would I not lose 20% of my money because when the money was 
deposited it was credited to the account in francs ... and when it is withdrawn 
it converted back to $$ at the current conversion rate ? Maybe this was answered 
in the previous reply if so call me *thick* if not call me *paranoid*.

-Mike

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