Bringing dollars to Poland, what interest rates can I negotiate?

Although, the PLN is falling, and may continue to do so, I will be transferring a sizable dollar amount and may hold the dollars there till I feel the time is appropriate to exchange for the PLN. Taking out the argument of political risk or even exchange rate risk, what is a good interest rate (max) if applicable, that I'll be able to negotiate at a bank to get the biggest bang for my buck so to say. What banks may be the best to do business with? What kind of terms are best and any counterproductive regulations?

TL;DR What is the best rate I can possibly negotiate at a bank? Best terms to do so with and counterproductive regulations or Tax codes I should be aware of?

Appreciate the help, Thank you.

depends whether you hold the deposit or for a given maturity ..in any case, you'd be lucky to get more than 1 pc for one year term

You could get 3-4% in the EE region for your USD if the amount is over a 1/4.

First if you are bringing over 10k and from states,make sure you declare at customs or they now have sniff dogs and if you are caught consider the money going to us govt.Secoundly if you plan to put it in Polish banks the interest you make and the account has to be declared in states if you are a usa citizen and then if you ever want to take the money back you will need polish govt permission,lots of paperwork and proofs they seek.Ofcourse there are other ways but I will not recommend them as thay are illegal with direinternational money laundering charges,esp in States.

I should have been more clear, It's going to be a bank to bank transfer, I will not be stashing the cash in my underwear as it is way more than 10k. Now, 1 percent for USD sounds about right, as far as PLN goes, it seems a 1 month will yield about 3%. However, I'm confused about the way its calculated a bit, the money could sit there for 10 years for all I care so the term isn't an issue. So, when I finally convert to PLN is it better to go with a 3% 1 month, over a long term period OR lets say 6 months at 6%. It seems to my that over a longer term period for lets say 2 years + the shorter the term the bigger the pay off? Am I looking at this right? or a 6% every 6 months for a longer term period has a bigger pay off?

When you say 1/4, are you talking about 100, 1M?

Dude then why not buy a property that yields still an average over 8% a year,ofcourse you will have to wait 10 years?And the property taxes are way affordable then in states:)

I own properties and will add 1 more soon, I'm looking for something more liquid at this point and Poland has comparatively healthy economy and Debt/GDP ratio. Although, not sure if the Euro will collapse at this point and may not be known for some time, I would love to earn some Lomza beer money. Just trying to figure out, what has a better pay off, Finance was my major in college but i have been out of school for some time and I worked directly in Brokerage and not Banking so I forgot the whole compounding concept. (Ashamed) Thanks for taking your time to respond if everyone is as nice as you guys, I may just have to stay in Warsaw and start looking for work haha.

[quote=IHeartPL] Poland has comparatively healthy economy and Debt/GDP ratio. Al[/quote
Dont be so sure as I have been living on and off in Poland for last 12 years and suddenly worse then states the credit was given.At one point I was offerd to take 150% of the value of the property that too in swiss money which had less interest rate...and now those people are paying 20 to 25% more...so lets keep our fingure crossed and wait and see. NOBLE bank did give me the credit line against those properties but this year using the fine print they cut it to 50%.So be carefull and dont count much on Polands economy:D

You're knowledgeable, I hope everything works out for you, in my case I'm betting that a systemic bank failure doesn't happen as it has in other countries not now or hopefully ever. Countries who haven't went through that already (Poland), hopefully will learn off of the mistakes of others (Ireland) and even the US. Nip the problem in the butt and prevent what overspending eventually does to an economy. By the way, looking at the credit % offered in Poland is a complete and disgusting rip off or maybe a common practice in European countries and i'm just not used to such high % credit but people shouldn't allow it, although I'm not sure how hard or easy it is to get credit. Easy = failure at those rates, tougher standards for giving out credit will perpetuate a healthier economy and keep the private debt low.

HA!HA!HA! very easy if you have contacts:) and or none if you dont ...usually there are still agents who would NOW get it for you for a fee but since they the bank are a lot tighter now I heard was with 20% down on residential and 30% on commercial then again if they have started to have data base for credit scores now....Best is they will also consider your US income while giving you loan...but how they confirm that US tax forms are not a fake I wouldnt know:)

That scares me a bit. Cutting off these practices is easier said than done, since they're making more money than ever giving out loans. Would you know, where I could get information on the health status of Polish banks? Balance sheets?

Here's an interesting article about a leaked report from Goldman Sachs, good read.

businessinsider.com/goldman-the-worlds-going-to-hell-heres-how-to-cash-in-2011-8

Till you know what you want stay put...best leave money is US banks and use your credit card to obtain cash...I don't think Poland is for you, plenty of good US beers.

I initially wanted to find out about what advantage / disadvantage lets say a 1 month lokata at 3% have over one that is 6 months at 6% and if I hold it for lets say a 3 year term but got off track. I'm having problems calculating this thing for some reason and the way its divided is over a 365 day term? and if you could help me out I'd appreciate it.

How much money are we talking about? Also Polish tax laws re bank interest, transferring funds.

For what you want to do, this is where you want to be: forex.com

Lets say 100k and I convert to PLN right now at exactly 3/1 taking out any fees I end up with 300k. I know that if its a savings account, compounded daily they don't take out the "Belki Tax". But for this I want to look at the "lokaty" and the options are 1-14 days at 2.35%, 1 month at 3% and 6 months at 6% and I keep it there for 3 years.

I thought it was much, much higher, 100k is only peanuts, your are a small player, take away tax, fees and the uncertain zlote forget it.

Haha I wanted to make it simple, its 750k. So can we continue?

I think you are trolling, a person with this sort of money would be getting professional advice and doing his own research.

I thought canines were primarily used to detect illegal drugs?

Tom morning when I wake up, I will open up my account and trade a doodey load of money off my couch that you've never even seen by googling it while sitting on gotomeetings talking to my employees (It's supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow, I don't much like the cold and won't travel to my office if I don't have to). 11 if i'm satisfied with how much I made, I take off and take a nap. I'll wake up around 3 and watch the market close or maybe not depends if I feel like it. Than, I will think about my month long trip to eastern and europe and how I'll enjoy it. I know hedge fund managers, FA's, stock brokers and even at one point worked for a Forex company (didn't like it) bottom line they don't think about this and don't do it (I enjoy traveling). I figured i'll try thinking outside of the box, while reading the charts I thought not only can I capitalize on the interest rate I will also convert at a time when I think the PLN has peaked and that's at about 1.25 EUR/USD. Than, let it ride for as long as possible before they either grow some balls (Germany) and others or dismantle the euro and I will buy back the dollars right before that happens. So, I'm too excited to sleep, figured i'd come on here pick some brains while watching Netflix. I'm liquid, liquiiieeed :) . Please, if you don't add to the discussion and just look to pry out personal information and than match a name for different amounts of money. Consider moving on. Thank you.

not much in poland dude at this age and stage! you cant buy a ****** motel here for that forget bank interest!


again man this money in small business is sheeet*!


happened with me I had 9900$ and 1500 pln and 500 euro,they let me pass but after filling out declaration forms and the canines were right at the door of the plane where the newspapers were stacked with the handler


looks smart,and i will follow u:)cuz I aint that greedy:D

Thanks Moose :)

Ah, ha when 3M LIBOR USD is 0,35% and 10 yrs swap rate at 2,24%?? Which bank is offering this? Bernie (Madoff) bank??

Read what I wrote smart ass - EE region, it is also a very well known Italian Bank.

A little touchy on the subject, are we?? Not surprising, what would you think of someone who is buying a car for $20,000 and proposing to sell it to you for $15,000?

The scenario you propose, is exactly what happens in Germany, workers of Mercedes and BMW are allowed to buy new cars with a 30% discount, if you enter into an agreement to buy a new car every 6-12 months in germany, you can avail of the same discounts. Just go to one of the German websites like Mobile.de and you will find a large number of cars for sale at 6-12 months old directly from these buyers.. Furthermore if you question what I have previously stated, pick up the phone and contact the bank in EE ( with the main Italian shareholder) not Pekao S.A, but a sister company, they will quote you 3-4% on USD for 1/4 + on term deposits of 6,9,12 months.

Now you are informed.

What bank is that ? That rate of 3% to 4% is extremely generous. Are you sure the bank you contacted is not going bust? Lol

It is obvious from your comments, you know zero about banking, better crawl back in your dark hole and wait for the rain to come.

$-USD invested in a normal bank account today April 2013 will yield less then 0.5% . Just checked one account and the rate is meaningless something like 0.01%.
As you know the US Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates low, so bank just about everywhere are paying super-low interest rates on deposits.

If the USD buys more than 3-PLN, you may consider converting into PLN and getting a Local "time deposit" in PLN, which can be 3-4 or even 6%. However, bear in mind that ALL INTEREST PAYMENTS are subject to 19% Interest/Dividend tax. The tax is taken as soon as the interest/dividend payment is made.

Sending money into or out of your account via BANK WIRE TRANSFER is easy to do and cost about $40, regardless of the size of the transfer.

You just need to fill out a form and provide your ID card/ Passport.

I do not believe any POLISH bank without a significant presence in the USA will ask for your SSN so how they can report you to the IRS is a mystery. I do not know that they are or have to be in "compliance" with any US banking laws. Of course that is a double edge sword, if things go pear shaped, you are on your own. But AFAIK there have not been any bank failures.

There was one pyramid "investment" company that promised 12% returns only to go bankrupt. Only a fool would have invested with them, since it made no sense, and no one could explain how they were doing it. But many people got burnt.

The major Polish banks are solid. There are a few foreign owned banks (German, Portuguese, Austrian, French) with operations in Poland which claim to be separate from any woes of the parent country.

Just don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Poland - the "poor" country with a bank on every corner ;) LOL

I love banking here, no checks to deal with, everything is "free" bank-transfer from your smart-phone or web browser. Very convenient and safe.

Kocham Polska, i ty?