Bank loans in Mexico

as far as i can tell, at least here in CIUDAD JUAREZ,the only american bank with holdings in mexico is CITIBANK. CITIBANOMEX THAT IS WHERE MY WIFE (SHE is mexican citizen) has her acct. i have heard horror stores from my son who lives here as well with his mexican wife, the expats cannot have accts here except through their mex espouses. more info is needed . if u need to open acct here, i suggest u talk to the bank mgr for special arrangements where u r

You need a permanent residency visa and they want you to have a Mexican credit history.

The credit in your home country does not count. So first become permanent, and establish a history of some company in Mexico trusting you. Only other solution is to have someone in your country float you a personal l oan or have a Mexican national agree to sign for you. Note the property would be in his name, not yours, so make sure there are legal notarized papers to support your claim. You could possibly also work out a payment plan with a homeowner, be very careful with that.

Bringing in foreign money is a big deal so the first option would be tricky. I went through 4 banks before a neighbor agreed to sign for me. If you don't have Mexican credit work on it.

grapenut wrote:

as far as i can tell, at least here in CIUDAD JUAREZ,the only american bank with holdings in mexico is CITIBANK. CITIBANOMEX THAT IS WHERE MY WIFE (SHE is mexican citizen) has her acct. i have heard horror stores from my son who lives here as well with his mexican wife, the expats cannot have accts here except through their mex espouses. more info is needed . if u need to open acct here, i suggest u talk to the bank mgr for special arrangements where u r

Thanks, grapenut but I fear there is some misinformation in your post.  The OP was writing about borrowing money from a Mexican Bank not opening an account.  Opening an account, whether checking, savings or time sensitive certificates of deposit  with exchanged U.S. Dollars or Mexican Pesos would, of course, be much simpler than borrowing money from any Mexican chartered bank whether the requested loan is collateralized or unsecured.  I have never applied for bank credit down here in Mexico even though I am a naturalized Mexican  citizen and I shudder at the thought of applying for a bank loan in Mexico.

My wife and I have lived in Mexico for 17 years. I am a U.S. Citizen and she is a French Citizen.  We as expats with permanent residency status, opened two bank accounts in Mexico. One in Ajijic, Jalisco at BBVA Bancomer and one in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas at Banamex.  There is no question that expats can have bank accounts here  in Mexico without opening the account in concert with a Mexican Citizen whether that citizen is  a spouse or business or personal partner. No special arrangements are needed to open an account  for expats with residency status and this can be accomplished with any new accounts clerk at any bank branch anywhere in Mexico if you present propeer identification.  Even though we have since, many years after opening both Mexican bank accounts, become naturaized Mexican Citizens, we still would not even consider applying to a Mexican chartered bank for a loan except, perhaps an automobile purchase loan under a dealer program and even then we would only apply reluctantly.

My experience is that you must have good credit,30% down min and collateral. It can be so difficult that you would look for other means to fulfill your needs. For buying a house the best bet at the time was using General Electric Financing. At one time they were loaning American citizens money for home purchases in Mexico. I do not know if they continue to do so since this was a few years back. Maybe 5 0r 6 years.

I recently read on another expat blog there is something called "cross border mortgage".  Where some US lenders will lend for property in Mexico.  I did a little looking and sent off 2-3 interest emails but haven't gotten any responses.

I agree with "buba2shoes" post. I have a bank account with Intercam BANCO, but in my case I did need to provide permenent  residency card and PROOF of property ownership in Mexico. Otherwise a simple process.

travellight wrote:

You need a permanent residency visa and they want you to have a Mexican credit history.

The credit in your home country does not count. So first become permanent, and establish a history of some company in Mexico trusting you. Only other solution is to have someone in your country float you a personal l oan or have a Mexican national agree to sign for you. Note the property would be in his name, not yours, so make sure there are legal notarized papers to support your claim. You could possibly also work out a payment plan with a homeowner, be very careful with that.

Bringing in foreign money is a big deal so the first option would be tricky. I went through 4 banks before a neighbor agreed to sign for me. If you don't have Mexican credit work on it.

You do NOT need a permanent residency visa. At least not for every kind of loan. With a temporary working visa you can get a credit card, start building a history and the bank will start offering different kind of loans (car, personal etc.). If you want to get a house mortgage then yes, you actually need a permanent visa and solid credit history.

Well Kevin, perhaps you can get a credit card from a U.S based bank. Some U.S. banks still have a presence in Mexico, but otherwise, the first thing they want to see is your Mx. ID status. Then they check your Mexican credit history. 
No credit history in Mexico = no card or loan. Some places are easier to open an account with but all will ask those questions. If they are going to extend you credit they want to be pretty sure you will still be in Mexico when that credit is used. Mexico has a national credit base they just look you up. They are not dependent on 3 credit agencies like the U.S.

I found a mortgage broker in PV who will do loans to MX, US and Canadian citizens for property in Mexico.  The loan qualifications are about the same as in the US.  But the terms on the loans are much different.  I have a pdf of the terms and conditions if I can figure out how to post it I will. 

http://crossborderinvestment.com/index.html

Here's a link to a global mortgage outfit in the San Jose Del Cabo area:

Globalmortgage.mx

Can't promise you will find interest rates comparable to those in the US though.

this is new to me, because in 2015 I opened an account with Satander and Bancomer with an electric bill from a friend of mine because they require a utility bill. No problem at all on top of that they pay 5%  and sometimes more in interest if you put it in an investment account within your account and they say you never loose only gain. Here in the USA I only get .01% where I still live. So every time I go to Mexico I take money out my account here and deposit in Mex. I good send it by wire but they charge a fee plus Satander charge a fee for procession it. They accept dollars up to $3000.00 and get only charged the exchange fee like you would at a money change kiosk.

hnsberk

hnsberk wrote:

this is new to me, because in 2015 I opened an account with Satander and Bancomer with an electric bill from a friend of mine because they require a utility bill. No problem at all on top of that they pay 5%  and sometimes more in interest if you put it in an investment account within your account and they say you never loose only gain. Here in the USA I only get .01% where I still live. So every time I go to Mexico I take money out my account here and deposit in Mex. I good send it by wire but they charge a fee plus Satander charge a fee for procession it. They accept dollars up to $3000.00 and get only charged the exchange fee like you would at a money change kiosk.

hnsberk

Hi, question: does the bank take of 30% off your earned interest for the income tax (impuesto sobre la renta) and do you declare thos interest revenues in your Dutch annual tax return?

Your answers will help me decide to do the same or not.

Gracias y buen dia a todos, GyC.