CI Banco

Have a drop and enjoy the confusion!

I first came to Lake Chapala for a week in 1996 and during that week stupidly made an offer on a house at 60% of the asking price. It was at the top of a steep hill and it was hard to sell and the seller was in terrible health and for some reason he accepted my offer. It was really a stupid move on my part but it turned out very well.

I didn't check anyone about banks either. I simply opened an account with what is now Actinver Bank. As years went by many people I talked to, told me to be careful and told me these terrible stories about this bank. Yet I have had no problems and also received very good service there. Not only do I have a checking account there, but also a small brokerage account.

Now they have a new policy where you can not go in with a few thousand pesos and open up an account like I did. They have a minimum amount required that is quite high, keeping many people out who are just arriving lakeside and only want to start with a small checking account. Oh and slainte39, their coffee is great. (well it was until the coronavirus keeps us out of the bank coffee area.)

I post this not to change anyone's mind, but to tell you that things have changed.

Bubba2shoes wrote:We have banked with Bancomer here in Ajijic sor about 18 years mainly because when we moved here in 2001, the Bancomer branch was pretty much our only choice except what is now  Activer where we will not bank after our experience with Lloyd when we first moved here.  Bancomer is also convenient  from our other home in Chiapas and I like the fact that they have branches in  so many places but , while I have had no problems  with Bancomer, I still live by  Rule #1 in Mexico and continue  to keep almost  all of our accounts in our major U.S. based international bank. I was a U.S. national bank examiner and then commercial banker in San Francisco for many years before retiring here and no way would I move the bulk of our accounts  to a Mexican bank.  I keep only mmoney I can easily afford to lose in Mexican chartered banks. To each his or her own.

That´s great for folks who are US citizens or green card holders, but not practical or doable for 99.9% of Mexican citizens, or anybody doing business here needing to issue or receive facturas and filing SAT/IVA tax returns for the government.
I´ve never had any problems with banks in Mexico over 40 years except for lousy accounting by Actinver, which I got straightened out, and certainly don´t loose any sleep about the banks here. In fact most are very competent. In the real estate business, millions of dollars of foreign currencies are handled (have to be) through the local banks, through Notarios, to check the money laundering situation.
Of the 20 or so local Chapala Municipio real estate offices, I have never heard of anyone losing money because of the banks, maybe on the purchase of property overpriced or some other default, but not on the banks.
Right now banks here are paying about 6% interest in an economy with about 3% inflation, compare that with the US, and if you don´t need to buy dollars which most Mexicans don´t, that is much better than banking in the US.

But as you say……"to each his own".  Some older people who have banked all their lives in the US would not be that comfortable here,

gringal wrote:Have a drop and enjoy the confusion!

Well OK, if you insist……..