Expat Friendly Bank in Santigo

Does anyone have a recommendation for the best place for an expat to bank in Santiago? Will you tell me why you recommend them?

Even if not in Santiago, can you give an example of how foreign income is moved into the country, converted to pesos, accessed, etc., please? I hear of peso and dollar accounts....why both? If expats receiving income from the US could share how they structure/manage their finances (generalities only), that would be so helpful.

Are funds held in a DR bank guaranteed by something like the FDIC in the US?

Thank you

I am not sure of what bank to sue in Santiago but in general you can move money in by wire transfer with ease (there is a cost for each transfer). YOu can also write  a personal check to deposit in your account drawn on your US account but the banks will hold the check (not release your funds) for 15-30 business days depending on the bank.  I know this is bull shit as you can check your home bank and see that the money was transferred to the bank in the DR in 3 days or so, but they still hold the money for a month here.

We keep both peso and dollar accounts for convience, I am not sure if transferring dollars to your peso account gives you a reasonable rate on exchange.   I would rather exchange as I need pesos.  Remember anything over 10K in a bank outside of the US needs to be reported to the IRS. That is 10K in total no matter the number of banks or accounts.

I am not aware of any FDIC kind of thing here and 12 years ago or so a couple of banks went under and people lost lots of $$$.  Most got it back but not all.  So I certainly would not put the "whole nest egg" in the DR banking system.

Bob K

Bob did you miss the  recent bank going under?  In the last  60 days a bank went under here.

Only use a big bank! Scotiabank,  Banco Popular, Reserva etc.   Do not put all your eggs in one basket.  NO issue with having both a peso and a dollar account.  Investments - many use the central bank for investments. 

You can move more then  US 10,000  into the country but you must document the source of the funds and what you plan to do with it.   NO idea about US reporting requirements. 

Be very careful about investment "schemes" here.   Make sure you truly understand every single facet of this, too many have lost millions here!

All good advice from Planner and yes in my foggy state earlier I forgot about the one that just went under a couple of months ago,

Only invest and put into a bank here what you can afford to lose.

BObK

Thats okay Bob we all do foggy sometimes.... me a lot lately....LOL

Memory is the first to go and....damn I can't remember what is second....:D

Bob K

Hahahaha.

Banco Santa Cruz's  original office is in Santigo.. It is a very well funded bank with an excellent tract record. As every one has stated....don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Yes we use Santa Cruz here in Sosua and the main bank in Santiago was also able to help us with a problem we had in Santiago.
I would recommend them for banking needs here.

BObK

Thanks for the helpful replies!

HEY TRY BHD BANCO LEON 2ND LARGEST BANK IN D.R. AFTER BANCO POPULAR. ALSO TRY XOOM TO WIRE MONEY FROM MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. I SUGGEST WIRE MONEY FOR PICK UP AT ANY BANCO BHD IN D.R.IT ARRIVES IN 20 MINUTES OR LESS MON-SAT. BARRING HOLIDAYS. TRY IT YOU MIGHT LIKE IT.

What isnthe cost per transfer?     What banks are located in Cabrera?   Thanks for any help.

Cost is usually a minimum then based on total amount.

Be aware that banco Leon and BHD have merged into one bank

Bob K