Is there a way for a US citizen, living in the US, to open an interest-bearing bank account in Euros, and transfer dollars to it?
Do any US banks do it? Any other ways?
Since no experts have stepped forward I’ll take a stab at it because I asked this question of an investment adviser. I asked this question when the dollar was about on par with the Euro.
If I understand it correctly, no, a U.S. bank cannot set you up with an account in another currency. You can go to a foreign bank and set up an overseas account in a foreign currency. I don’t know what the government restrictions or tax implications are.
Also, it seems that it is also difficult to invest in an index fund in a foreign stock exchange. Again, you have to go to the office of a foreign bank.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong and let us all know if there is an easier way.
Can set you up with a number of options for foreign-denominated deposit accounts, CDs, etc.
More specifically, this sub-page may be a good place to start:
Why is this the case in the US? Every bank I have used overseas can open an account in almost any currency. In Prague it is easy to open a Yen account, in Dubai a Canadian dollar account can be had… so why it is so impossible in the “most powerful country in the world”.
It is shocking… when I asked this of one US bank, the response was “What’s a Euro?”