Please provide a comprehensive list of banks with North American
branches that offer accounts denominated in the currency of the
European Union, the Euro. I prefer US banks, but if none exist
Canadian banks are acceptable. I DO NOT need a list of European-based
banks that do this. I would also be interested in any North American
branched bank that offers accounts in multiple currencies, esp. Swiss
Francs and allows for easy, low cost switching between currencies. Thanks.

---

Clarification of Question by tivoli-ga on 02 Feb 2003 19:02 PST

Gee guys and gals, is this really that hard? How about a couple of
names instead of a comprehensive list? That'll do it. Thanks.

Hello and thank you for your interesting question.

After looking for quite a while, I'm happy to report that I've located
both a Canadian and a U.S. bank that will maintain Euro-denominated
accounts.

IntesaBci Canada calls itself Canada's first Euro-ready bank.
IntesaBci Canada
http://www.intesabci.ca/english/euro_main.cfm

As such, it will accept and maintain term deposits in Euro currencies,
either as short or long-term investments:
"Find out more by: calling us at 1-800-224-5596, e-mailing us at
info@intesabci.ca or come visit us at one of our branches."
Term Deposits in Canadian, U.S. and Euro Funds
http://www.intesabci.ca/english/bnk_per_evd_term.cfm 

The U.S. option is to buy an FDIC-insured Euro certificate of deposit
from Everbank.com, the nationwide division of First Alliance Bank:
"Why world currencies? 
--Capital gains may be earned if the U.S. dollar depreciates. 
--Select world currencies may offer a higher yields than available in
CDs denominated in U.S. dollars. Check current yields for CDs.
--Broadening your portfolio asset allocation to include world
currencies can help reduce overall portfolio risk and volatility."
FDIC-Insured World Currency
http://www.everbank.com/main.asp?affid=eb

Search terms used:
bank "euro denominated"
"euro deposit accounts"

Thanks again and good luck!
richard-ga

Nice work. Thanks. It just goes to show how insular we are here in the
US. In other countries the ability to have accounts in other
currencies is common. I really had troube coming up with anything
myself on this one.