Bermuda is one of the largest and most reputable offshore jurisdictions with 75% of Fortune 500 companies having subsidiaries or foreign-registered entities in Bermuda. Notable examples include Apple and major players in the oil industry who have established or currently maintain subsidiaries in Bermuda. Furthermore, Bermuda is the largest domicile for reinsurance companies globally, with significant participation of stakeholders from the US and Asia.
Despite its large insurance and corporate sectors, Bermuda has a very small banking sector, with only five banks licensed to operate within the jurisdiction. As a result, most Bermudian companies conducting international business choose to bank overseas.
Banks in Bermuda are regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), which is the island's single financial regulator. The BMA oversees banking, trust, securities, funds, money service businesses, and virtual asset regulation.
From the five licensed banks in Bermuda, four are currently operating: HSBC, Butterfield, Bermuda Commercial Bank, and Clarien Bank.
All four banks in Bermuda serve the local retail market for personal and business accounts, as well as the offshore market for wealth management, funds, insurance, and trust services. They also extend their services, to a lesser extent, to companies engaged in commercial activities.
Regular retail personal banking is generally not available for nonresidents in Bermuda. Instead, nonresidents generally have access to private banking services tailored for wealth management. Minimum relationships tend to start at USD 500,000.
For nonresident owned Bermuda exempted companies and exempted LLCs engaged in offshore business or investments, typically for wealth management, but also for trading activities, minimum initial deposit requirements typically range from USD 500,000 to USD 1,000,000.
While trading companies may not have a minimum deposit requirement at banks like HSBC, the banks generally expect some presence in Bermuda or decent revenues, commonly exceeding USD 5 million. Each case is assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Bermuda companies are highly favored compared to companies incorporated overseas. However, for wealth management and private banking services, banks tend to onboard companies incorporated in other large offshore centers such as the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands.
The remaining bank, Jewel Bank, has been established to serve the underserved crypto industry. While the bank has obtained its banking license, it has not yet commenced operations.
Our services in Bermuda focus on assisting foreign-owned Bermuda companies in opening business accounts for transactional purposes, as well as wealth management accounts for offshore companies and non-resident individuals.
We work with 2 different banks in Bermuda, each bank has different eligibility requirements, types of accounts available and onboarding processes.
We invite you to carefully review each banks requirements and services to better understand if their banking services meet your needs.
The Bermuda Islands are a British overseas territory located in the North Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of the United States. The closest American continent point is the Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, located 1,030 km to the northwest, while the city of Miami is 1 770 km to the southwest. It has just over 67,000 inhabitants and its capital is Hamilton.
Bermuda forms the northern peak of the legendary Bermuda Triangle, a large maritime area in which it is said that they have been disappeared numerous ships and aircraft in unexplained circumstances. The archipelago is in an adverse climate area prone to be hit by hurricanes.
Its official currency is the Bermudian Dollar (BMD), pegged to the US$ at a 1:1 ratio.
The executive power in Bermuda resides in the monarch and is exercised in his name by the Governor. The governor is appointed by the King on the proposal of the British Government. The head of government is the prime minister.
The cabinet is proposed by the prime minister and officially appointed by the governor. The Legislative Branch consists of a bicameral parliament inspired by the Westminster system. The Senate is the Upper House, composed of eleven members appointed by the governor on the proposal of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.
The House of Assembly, or lower house, has thirty-six members elected by the population with the right to vote by secret ballot.
The country has one of the highest per capita income worldwide. Its economy is based on insurance and reinsurance, banking and financial services, as well as tourism, which accounts for approximately 28% of GDP. Bermuda has a robust international business and financial sector, which accounts for 60% of its GDP.
The industrial sector is small, and agriculture is severely limited by the lack of adequate land.
Our banking support service is not just a mere introduction to the bank. We assist you in filling out the business questionnaires appropriately and help you understand and provide business details, commercial information and purpose/use of the bank account that a given bank wants to know in order to approve your account application. Banks want certainty and clarity on how the account will be used. Everything must be watertight. We will work with you to make sure there is minimal 'back and forth' and a smooth account opening process.
Bank Account opening requirements are subject to change at the discretion of the bank. There might be additional fees charged by the bank itself. Bank account opening is not guaranteed and is subject to the bank policies and compliance department. There might be restrictions on UBO nationalities, business activities and/or jurisdictions. A refund is available if the account is not successfully opened subject to our terms of service (20% to partly cover service and payment processing and administrative costs apply).