Short of visiting Credit Suisse in Zurich, is there a way online to open a Swiss account and convert US$ to Euros?
You can try through their New York branch. They probably won’t talk to you in Zurich. I was advised to leave the US borders anytime I needed to give Credit Suisse instructions. On a visit to Zurich I was grilled by a US airline as to the purpose of my visit (none of their damn business). Banking has really tightened up in Europe as a result of US pressure to fight terrorism, and has become paranoid. At least it was a couple of years ago. It may have cooled down now. You have to remember that the point of a Swiss account was anonymity, and privacy laws which has now been eroded. If you just want a foreign bank account banks like Citi have branches in London and are probably more flexible. Credit Suisse does not offer savings accounts, only money markets, and some are waiting to see if they have any exposure to the subprime mess. Citi is offering 6.27% on a flexible savings account. But remember there is not usually FDIC insurance in other countries. Aside from all that, I’m not sure converting dollars to Euros is such a good idea in the present climate. The horse has bolted.
