Euro Banking System On The Verge Of Collapse

By Jeff Berwick

News came out yesterday that all Cypriot banks will continue to be closed until at least next Tuesday and may remain closed permanently.
Last week, the European Central Bank threatened to cut the Emergency Liquidity Assistance which Cyprus had been receiving unless Cyprus’ major banks implemented legislation which would “tax” all investors who have accounts in Cypriot banks an amount up to 9.9 percent of their total deposits. The tax was rejected by the Cyprus parliament on Tuesday.
The ECB proposal led to runs on Cypriot banks and to angry protests, including from Russia’s Vladimir Putin, as many Russians have money in those banks. Cyprus is a more than thousand year-old banking center which has facilitated trade in the region for centuries, so this situation is of great interest to many people worldwide including a massive amount of shipping companies who use Cyprus as their financial center.
Nigel Farage is a British politician and leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) since 2010 and, since 1999, he has been a Member of the European Parliament for South East England. He came out with a scathing rebuke of the ECB’s plans.
In his first TV appearance since the Cypriot wealth tax was announced, he stated that in all his years and all his experience of the desperation of the European Union’s leadership “never did [he] think they would resort to stealing money from people’s savings accounts.”
He stated the obvious. The EU knows they cannot let any country leave, no matter how small, for “once one country goes, the whole deck of cards will come tumbling down.”
He parroted our comments that this has the potential to destroy the entire EU banking industry and even the euro itself. Italians, Spaniards and many other weaker EU citizens must be looking at their local bank accounts with great worry.
We agree completely with Nigel’s prognosis that Europeans and anyone with a bank account in Europe should “get your money out while you can.”
“Do not invest In The Euro-Zone,” he said, which we have been saying at TDV for years. He went on, “you have to be mad to do so – as it is now run by people who do not respect democracy, the rule of law, or the basic principles upon which Western civilization is based… They are propping up a Eurozone that, in the end, will collapse in disastrous failure and they are prepared to do anything to do so.”
But here we take issue with Nigel that this shows a lack of respect for democracy. This is the inevitable outcome of the democratic political process which allows voting for goodies from politicians at the expense of future generations and ever increasing debt. The bill is now coming due.
The events in Cyprus in the last week may have been the linchpin that sets off a complete collapse of the Euro Zone and even, by extension, the entire Western financial and banking system should enough panic set in.
Dollar vigilantes are ready for this, but many in the world are just waking up to the fact that the entire Western financial system is a house of cards underpinned by nothing but debt and only propped up in the last few years by massive amounts of money printing.
Your Assets Are Not Safe
What can we take away from the events of the last month? It’s the same conclusions we have been promoting for nearly three years. To start, get your assets outside of the Western financial system.
This may not be quite as simple as you may think. While Cyprus was obvious as being a place to avoid due to its inclusion in the collapsing Eurozone, many other places are not as obvious.
As example, the British colony, Bermuda, long thought of as a safe, tax-free banking center is not as safe as you might think. The 21 square mile British Overseas Territory’s debt has soared from $176 million in 1998 to almost $1.2 billion in August 2011 – about a 610 percent rise. Much like in the US, the “debt ceiling” has recently been raised exorbitantly to $2.5 billion and there are plans in the works to raise the debt to as high as $4 billion in the next few years. With a population approximately 65,000 that would work out to $60,000+ in national debt for every man, woman and child in the country.
Just recently, the eyes of the British government have turned their Sauron-like gaze to the Bahamas. During a debate this week in the UK’s House of Commons, a UK MP said Britain “is responsible for some of the biggest tax havens in the world,” singling out the British Overseas Territories of Barbados, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda.
How long will it be before Bermuda becomes the next Cyprus?
As you can see, we live in a dangerous world for your assets. I have stated that this is the most dangerous time in human history for capital and you now have to be incredibly cautious and diligent with where you place your assets.
TDV’s recommendation has been to keep most of your assets in “hard assets”, located internationally in safer jurisdictions, so as to reduce the chances of government confiscation as the Western financial system collapses.
At TDV Offshore we help you attain a bank account in some countries that we deem to be safer. These countries generally are not as tied into the Western financial system and are in countries without a massive debt load. [In the March Issue of TDV, Justin O’Connell will look at a few jurisdictions we deem to be safer at this time.]
As well, as we have recommended for years – and Cypriots are now just learning the hard way – to keep at least a few months’ worth of fiat cash in your house for emergencies should you find your bank machines closed for a significant period of time and also keep some precious metals nearby. With the remainder, look to diversify internationally as prescribed in our Special Report for subscribers, “Getting Your Gold Out Of Dodge”.
And, if you can, get a second passport to give yourself options as TEOTMSAWKI progresses.
There are no green shoots, there will be no real recovery and things are only going to get worse from here… before they once again get better. So, prepare now and keep your eyes open. TEOTMSAWKI and the collapse of all fiat currencies will be the biggest event in human history. The symptoms of it are all around us and are so obvious that only a truly close-minded person or someone who just cannot handle the truth could possibly deny it.
Turn off your TV, ignore the newspapers and do your own research… and continue to stick with us here at TDV to help guide you through this Great Transition.