zoff

I plan on moving back to Portugal (after 50 years) and I'm wondering how safe the banks are in Portugal. Trump is about to take office here and I'm afraid that my mutual fund will take hit. The euro seems to be at a low point against the US dollar, this might be a good time to start transferring to a Portugese bank but how safe are the banks?

macliam

Not necessarily a good time to ask after the BES fiasco and concerns over Novo Banco......

However, you could transfer your money to a Euro-designated bank in a more regulated market (e.g. Ireland) and open a current account for the day-to-day in Portugal...... Transfers between the two should be quick and there is no problem with exchange rates.

Others may have different opinions.

mfesharne

I'd have thought the chances are the Euro will go tits up far more than the USD will & would therefore personally choose to keep my money in USD rather than change it to Euros.

Alternatively, if I were going to change my USD for something else, it'd be to GBP.

Only personal opinion though.

Red Eric

Provided your money is in accounts covered by the deposit guarantee scheme, it's safe up to the value of 100,000 euros per named account holder per bank.

That means that if a bank your money is in goes bust, you still get all of your money, provided you ensure that it is covered by the scheme and you don't breach the limit in any one bank.

Links below - hope this helps

http://www.fgd.pt/en-US/Pages/inicio.aspx
http://www.fgd.pt/en-us/FAQs/Pages/default.aspx

liveaboard

Welcome [back] to Portugal;
This has been covered before.
The business climate in Portugal remains shaky, with little confidence in the ethics of judiciary, government, or big business.
Presumably your pension / investments are in the US. The decision to sell them and buy EU [or other] vehicles, even aside from currency exchange rates, is a very serious business.

If possible, invest in things you know about.
Get advice from someone who is separate from anyone who earns a commission from you. Conflicts of interest run deep.
The waters are full of sharks waiting to get a bite of your hard earned wealth.

Why on earth would a person moving from USD to Euros want British currency??? With Brexit looming, the future of the UK pound is completely unpredictable.

If you want to start speculating on other currencies, Indian rupees offer 10% interest.

mfesharne

All currency futures are obviously complete speculation but if I were in the position stated by the O/P I'd be inclined to keep my money in USD because I think it's future is looking the best at the moment......... and I certainly wouldn't consider changing it to Euros because I think there's a very good chance of it either going completely tits up or at the very least, weakening dramatically in the next twelve months or so.

I'd also be very cautious about parking any more than the minimum with any Portuguese bank at any time because if the Greeks can give their (larger) investors a compulsory haircut the way they did, I reckon the same thing could happen anywhere else in the Eurozone.

However, if I felt it imperative to change from USD to something else, it'd be to GBP because I think it's future will be more secure than most other hard currencies - especially the Euro.

'Fraid I don't know much about the Rupee so can't comment but equally that's reason enough for me not to invest in it.

Red Eric

I can't see what a haircut on Government bonds has to do with cash deposits in banks

EMR

There is one thimg you can rely on and that is there will aleays be up or downsides on currencies.
The pound us currently the currency that is in decline andcI would not invest heavily in sterling until the terms of brexit are known and what its effects will be.
The collapse of the Euro has been forcast for years and it is still in existence and holding its own.
Hold a basket of currencies if you are concerned.
We are strong in Euros because of the performance of sterling and always keep some in dollars as this is still the preferred currency in much of the world.

mfesharne

So do you think the future of the Euro is looking more secure than that of the USD or GBP?

Or that the European banks are more trustworthy & secure than the British banks?

I certainly don't.

Gotta say, I don't trust any bank but the Euro banks seem to be looking dodgier by the day.

mfesharne

These are the sort of stories that make me charry about keeping money in any Eurozone based account...... Portuguese or otherwise:

Greek Banks Considering 30% Haircut On Deposits Over €8,000: FT | Zero Hedge

Blog: Greek bank depositors in line for a 'haircut'

Red Eric

Still struggling. Can't see what the Cypriot banking crisis of 2013 or the Greek banking crisis of July 2015 have to do with the safety of Portugal's banking system today.

But go on, then - just for the sake of completeness, what did happen in the end in each of those cases?

mfesharne

Don't know why you're struggling with the idea but as I see it, if things like the links I posted are even ever discussed/reported it suggests to me that it might not be a good idea to change my money/investments etc into Euros.

Add on what's going on with the Italian banking issues & Deutche Bank & it'd make me considerably more wary.

These things are always a matter of personal choice but (IMO) the USD & GBP will be a much safer bet than Euros in the next year or two.

If you think otherwise, I'd be interested to hear what you base your opinion on?

mfesharne

I should have added that it's not really about what did or didn't happen but more about what was considered/discussed/reported & what might have happened........ to me, that's morte than enough to make me cautious about any Euro investments & to believe the USD or GBP are much safer.

Ukkram

Why would you choose 2 currencies that are a gamble at this stage? No one knows what the GBP will do come Brexit. No one knows what the USD will do when the orange menace starts his shite.

Strange that you pick the 2 that are the most difficult to predict due to the uncertainty. No big players have shown their cards on this as they are all unsure yet YOU seem to know it all.

I can give you links to where I predicted the USD/ZAR to head to 13,5 months ago by year end when "experts" were predicting 19,0. This did not happen and it has stabilized around 13,5 where I said it would.

I am a currency and stock trader and rely on it for my income.

nogard

Spot on!