Create a Trust

Motivation

The raid on Cyprus’ depositors in March 2013 precipitated our trustee service to the public.

Historical capital levies of the world

There are recorded capital levies by the ancient Greeks ranging from 1% to 4%.
There are no recorded (read “legal”) capital levies before Word War I.

Date Country Type of asset Rate
1919 Germany Real estate from 10% to 65%
1920 Italy Real estate from 4.50% to 50%
1920 Czechoslovakia Real estate from 3% to 40%
1921 Hungary Real estate from 5% to 20%
1946 Japan Real estate from 10% to 90%
1990 Brazil Financial (bank deposits) 100% from US$1,250
1992 Italy Financial (bank deposits) 0.6%
2001 Argentina Financial (deposits in foreign currencies) 100%
2008 Argentina Financial (pensions) 100%
2009 Ireland Financial (funded public pension fund) 25%
2010 Ireland Financial (funded public pension fund) 12%
2010 Hungary Financial (private pensions) 100% (nationalization)1
2013 Cyprus Financial (bank deposits) 100% over 100,000 EUR, affecting 2 banks
2019 Lebanon Financial (bank deposits) 100% of foreign currencies. Freezing is still ongoing today.

Overview of legal bank guarantees

Entity Deposit guarantee Foreign currency covered
EU2 100,000 EUR (or equivalent for non-Eurozone countries) No
Isle of Man £50,000 for indiviuals and £20,000 for entities.3 Yes
Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) £50,000 per person, per banking groups4 Yes
USA5 US$250,000 No
Palau US$250,000 (from FDIC USA) No
Micronesia US$250,000 (from FDIC USA) No
Marshall Islands US$250,000 (from FDIC USA) No
Japan JPY 10,000,000 No
Thailand THB 1,000,000 No
Malaysia MYR 250,000 Yes
Taiwan TWD$3,000,000 Yes
Hong Kong HKD 500,000 Yes
Lebanon LBP 5,000,000 (US$3,316 before 2019, down to US$200 as of the 1st January 2022 due to the exchange rate). In reality: it is just zero! No

Trend of public confidence in the US

Our solution: a trust

Although the legal bank guarantees provide some kind of safety net, they are unfunded in case of a systemic crisis6.
The trust is a wonderful invention that gives a legal structure for:

  • fast set-up: usually in 2 business days
  • flexibility: you can make up any possible rules of management, settlement, investment, events, etc…

Which jurisdiction?

The choice of the jurisdiction will be done by the Trustee(s) which we provide.

Our fees

See the Fees page.

Type of trusts offered

We do NOT offer land or real estate trusts. However the land can be held by a company whose shares will be held by the trust.
All of our trusts can be revocable or irrevocable.
Period of the trust: from 2 years minimum to perpetuity.

  • Beneficiary trust
  • Purpose trust, such as:
    • Charitable
    • Political
    • The erection and maintenance of tombs and monuments

Type of investments covered

  • Any major currencies (no cash)
  • Irish bonds
  • Gold (physical or not)
  • Unit trusts/Mutual funds
  • Shares of companies
  • Digital assets (domain names, websites, etc)

Next step

Contact us to discuss your trust requirements.

Notes

  1. https://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2010/11/24/hungary-forces-private-pension-fund-members-back-to-state-scheme/
  2. Including Gibraltar, and all French Overseas possessions
  3. https://www.iomfsa.im/consumer-material/isle-of-man-depositors-compensation-scheme-dcs/
  4. https://www.gov.je/Industry/Finance/DepositProtection/Pages/Overview.aspx
  5. Including Overseas possessions: American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Mariana Islands (Guam, Saipan)
  6. see Iceland, 2008
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