How are the banks in Belize? Are Belize banks safe?
Kate Corrigan - Caye International Bank
Even though we don't have the equivalent of FDIC insurance per se, the International Banks in Belize have to have a 24% liquidity requirement. This means that 24 cents of every dollar we have in deposits has to be set aside and is liquid, ready for anybody to have or if something happens. We also have really strict lending criteria. As a bank we need a 50% loan to value and that's at about 11% - 13%, which is a standard interest rate here in Belize.
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Even though we don't have the equivalent of FDIC insurance per se, the International Banks in Belize have to have a 24% liquidity requirement. This means that 24 cents of every dollar we have in deposits has to be set aside and is liquid, ready for anybody to have or if something happens. We also have really strict lending criteria. As a bank we need a 50% loan to value and that's at about 11% - 13%, which is a standard interest rate here in Belize.
So our depositors have their money protected by the laws and the financial criteria here in Belize. The central bank in Belize monitors everything very, very closely to make sure we are sticking to all our ratios. They audit all our investments once or twice a year.
Posted December 1, 2014
Christian Burn
Belizean banks are absolutely safe. The major banks here are First Caribbean, Heritage, Atlantic, Scotia Bank and Belize Bank and we also have a private bank, Caye Bank. Caye Bank is not a consumer bank; it is an investment bank. Caye Bank is a Class A bank. When you call your bank, you get a lot more attention from the private banking officers than you do when you stand in line for 45 minutes and try to talk to someone at customer service. The Central Bank of Belize heavily regulates all...
Belizean banks are absolutely safe. The major banks here are First Caribbean, Heritage, Atlantic, Scotia Bank and Belize Bank and we also have a private bank, Caye Bank. Caye Bank is not a consumer bank; it is an investment bank. Caye Bank is a Class A bank. When you call your bank, you get a lot more attention from the private banking officers than you do when you stand in line for 45 minutes and try to talk to someone at customer service. The Central Bank of Belize heavily regulates all the banks in Belize.
My husband and I personally have a bank account in Belize with Belize Bank and we have been very pleased with it. There have been no problems at all. We hold funds in Belize currency and have no problems. It is also very straightforward to set up an account with your online banking just like you would anywhere.
My husband and I personally have a bank account in Belize with Belize Bank and we have been very pleased with it. There have been no problems at all. We hold funds in Belize currency and have no problems. It is also very straightforward to set up an account with your online banking just like you would anywhere.
Posted December 2, 2014
Ryan Wrobel - Wrobel & Co., Attorneys-at-Law
The banks are very safe in Belize. There has been no history of bank failures in this country. There have been no runs on any bank that we’ve seen happening in Europe or South America over the years. The Central Bank of Belize is a good regulator of financial institutions in this country. Unfortunately, there is no equivalent in Belize to deposit insurance like that provided by the FDIC in the United States. However, I would be hard-pressed to find...
The banks are very safe in Belize. There has been no history of bank failures in this country. There have been no runs on any bank that we’ve seen happening in Europe or South America over the years. The Central Bank of Belize is a good regulator of financial institutions in this country. Unfortunately, there is no equivalent in Belize to deposit insurance like that provided by the FDIC in the United States. However, I would be hard-pressed to find depositors’ insurance anywhere across the globe like it is in the United States. That doesn’t mean that our banks in Belize are bad or risky. In addition to no history of failure, the banks here in Belize are highly regulated. Even though depositors’ funds are not insured as they are in the US, I wouldn’t have any problem advising people to deposit funds in Belize. I don’t think that there is any risk here.
For international banks in Belize, the capital requirements are quite high as compared to other jurisdictions where financial institutions are not forced to keep as large degree an amount of reserves. The Central Bank of Belize has a very good website that provides more particular information as to the extent of capital reserves and how the financial institutions are governed and regulated in this country. On a personal level, my office uses Belize dollars, and we use the banks in Belize.
(Belizean currency, pictured.)
Posted November 9, 2015
Virginia Krohn - Villa Cayo Belize
Yes, the banks in Belize are safe; we have no problem at all because they are not so highly leveraged as they are in the states. However funds are not guaranteed by FDIC. We have money in the banks here and we have money in the States. Most expats who live here have the same. When you come to Belize, you want to be safe and you don’t want to cut off all ties with your US currency but you definitely cannot function if you do not have a Belize checking...
Yes, the banks in Belize are safe; we have no problem at all because they are not so highly leveraged as they are in the states. However funds are not guaranteed by FDIC. We have money in the banks here and we have money in the States. Most expats who live here have the same. When you come to Belize, you want to be safe and you don’t want to cut off all ties with your US currency but you definitely cannot function if you do not have a Belize checking account.
Logo for Central Bank of Belize, pictured.)
Posted July 25, 2016