Banco Latinoamericano Comerc Exterior SA (BLX), Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (CS): Foreign Money Center Banks and Minting Your Fortune

Some investors think that currency fluctuations are the worst part of investing foreign stocks, but I think these fluctuations are great opportunities. Why limit yourself to just one currency when it can go down easily? Not to sound like I’m preaching American declinism, but US won’t be on top forever and domestic companies aren’t necessarily the best ones going. The following might be some good ways to hedge your bets on the dollar and the US.

Growing like a magic mushroom

Banco Latinoamericano Comerc Exterior SA (NYSE:BLX), or Bladex, may not sound that great at first. Based in Latin America and working with local and Caribbean central banks, you might get the taste of poverty from thinking of Banco Latinoamericano Comerc Exterior SA (NYSE:BLX). But despite the propaganda about most of the South American continent being poor, the region is experiencing some of the fastest economic growth on earth. Also, Banco Latinoamericano Comerc Exterior SA (NYSE:BLX) doesn’t work in the retail sector, preferring to offer its development, lending and receivable services to businesses.

Businesses tend to be more stable, as evidenced by Banco Latinoamericano Comerc Exterior SA (NYSE:BLX)’s awesome 58.6% profit margins. Based in Panama, many of the company’s employees are even native English speakers — good for investor relations. On top of those good reasons to own Banco Latinoamericano Comerc Exterior SA (NYSE:BLX), the company pays a 4.7% dividend yield and is only trading for around 13 times earnings.

This is normally when I trash talk some scandal or mention how there’s a horrible dark spot on the company, but here I have nothing. Other than a hard-to-spell name that translates into a fairly generic “Foreign Trade Bank of Latin America” and a market cap of under $1 billion — which some could call a mark of instability if times get tough again — Banco Latinoamericano Comerc Exterior SA (NYSE:BLX) is just a good company. When the Fool’s rules allow it, I may very well pick up a few shares myself.

Like a mammoth

Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS) is the company that built much of Switzerland’s modern infrastructure. One of the least harmed by the Great Recession, Credit Suisse Group AG (ADR) (NYSE:CS) is also a popular bank if you want to hide your fortune from the tax man. Aside from the romance of it all, this bank provides a lot of the useful services most retail banks do, and is large enough to withstand just about anything with its $47 billion market cap.