An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor in a low- or no- tax jurisdiction. It provides financial and legal advantages like privacy, reduced legal restrictions, and protection against local political or financial instability. Offshore banking has increased rapidly all over the world since mid-1960s because of the growth and liquidity of Eurocurrency markets.

The full spectrum of financial services from offshore banks include deposit taking, credit, money transmissions, provision of foreign exchange, letters of credit and trade finance, investment custody, investment management, fund management, trustee services, and corporate administration.

Offshore banks provide access to politically and economically stable jurisdictions that may be an advantage for those resident in areas where there is a risk of expropriation or where there is corruption within the banking system. Many offshore banks offer services that may be unavailable in one's country of residence, such as paperless bank statements. Offshore banks in several nations participate in mandated bank account deposit protection insurance systems. Some offshore banks may even provide higher interest rates than banks in the home country, but the fees and minimum deposits required to open and operate accounts at some offshore banks can make them inaccessible to the general public.

The majority of offshore banks operate within highly regulated environments under national monetary bodies such as the IMF. These banks are required to maintain capital adequacy requirement in accordance with international standards. They must submit financial reports at least quarterly to the regulator on the current state of their business.

One common misconception about offshore banking is that it can legally prevent assets from being subject to personal income tax or interest. For those persons who meet fairly complex requirements, this conception is not applicable because the personal income tax of most countries makes no distinction between interest earned in local banks and those earned abroad. For instance, people subject to pay US income tax are required to declare any offshore bank accounts they may have.

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