Jack,

The arrangement my wife and I currently use for our banking:

*A San Diego, California, based Credit Union. Direct deposit of
social security and retirement.

*Banco de Oro (BDO) in the Philippines-both dollar and peso accounts.

At least once a month, I use secure e-mail to formally request the CU
to Bank Wire funds to BDO. It is a bit of a hassle for me because the
precise details must be spelled out in each request--things like SWIFT
codes, routing numbers as well as account numbers for each
institution. The Wire itself goes from CU to Citi in Manila as the
Correspondent Bank. Citi then redirects the funds to BDO. The BDO
manager cheerfully advised me every step of the way in how to word
those Wire requests.

Fees are involved, but can be avoided if you have sufficient funds to
cover your needs a month in advance. To avoid the fees, you deposit a
personal check from your CU at the Philippine bank. Your money is
then available to you free of charge a few weeks later.

The CU as I remember only requires a minimum of $100 or so to have a
fee free account. If you are 55 or more, even that minimum is waived.

I hope this helps.

David


Jack Barnes:
"David, That would be great. Thank you for your help. We plan to move
to Cebu next year 2010 late."
Jack
>
David Bannister:
"Jack, One prime suggestion I would make is that you open a stateside
account with a good credit union rather than with Citi or any other
bank. If you are interested, I will post my arrangements for accessing
my funds while living in the Philippines, but I think others may offer
better solutions for you than mine would be."