Banks - recommendations please

[rynd2it]

Originally Posted by hils

Credit Agricole will hold a sterling account for people with a Euro account with them. Have a look at this:
Credit Agricole Britline : The French Bank that makes French Banking easy for you

H

btw it pays interest too

Nice idea Hils - but:

<<<<<<<<The minimum balance required to open the account is £10,000>>>>>>

Ah well, back to Plan A

[hils]

o well it sounds like you better store it under your mattress

haven't you got a uk address you could use - friends/relatives - to open say a tesco account or something?

btw the pajero's still up for grabs, but it's in Corsica again now.

H

[rynd2it]

Originally Posted by hils

o well it sounds like you better store it under your mattress

haven't you got a uk address you could use - friends/relatives - to open say a tesco account or something?

btw the pajero's still up for grabs, but it's in Corsica again now.

H

The UK address trick won't work (unless its real) - they look for proof of residency such as electric bills etc. I'm told by First Direct (recommended and my first choice) that its something to do with the relatively new money laundering rules in the UK.

I'd forgotten all about the Pajero - looked a good deal but we were in a rush at the time. Thanks anyway

Cheers

[hils]

Just a vague off-the-wall thought: have you asked at your French bank if they have any ideas as to how you can maintain a sterling account?

[rynd2it]

Originally Posted by hils

Just a vague off-the-wall thought: have you asked at your French bank if they have any ideas as to how you can maintain a sterling account?

I honestly never thought of that - I'll investigate

Thanks

[hils]

Originally Posted by rynd2it

I honestly never thought of that - I'll investigate

Thanks

Don't forget - this being France - that you have to ask the obvious and ask focussed questions .......

Good luck

H x

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by hils

Just a vague off-the-wall thought: have you asked at your French bank if they have any ideas as to how you can maintain a sterling account?

Excellent suggestion. I just had my (allegedly) "annual" visit with my new bank adviser today. Had intended to blow this off, since I have little patience with these matters - but the guy is new, and he's young and he insisted that he is supposed to "get to know" his customers. (I had gone in last year to see his predecessor when I was thinking about transferring my American retirement funds over here to France - and she was very good about finding the information I needed.)

OK, he was clearly trying to sell me on a loan or an assurance vie, but he was very nice and even found one of their current banking "plans" that will save me 5 or 6€ a year in bank fees. When he got around to burial insurance ("funeral fees here in France are very expensive" - he has never seen how much funerals in the US cost!!) he did get a kick out of my reaction, which is that, when I'm dead, it's not my problem how much my funeral is going to cost - it's the state's problem, since I have no heirs at all!

But if you've got a bank you like, it's worth it to make an appointment with your adviser and ask your questions. You never know what sorts of nifty new "products" they have up their sleeves.
Cheers,
Bev

[mariachalut]

Mhh i suggest that you create an uk agency. it's an onshore“face” with all the offshore benefits.

Then you can get a sterling account or even a multi currency account in UK or where you want since you have a uk address.

i think that a company called SFM offshore create that kind of agency.

[rynd2it]

Originally Posted by mariachalut

Mhh i suggest that you create an uk agency. it's an onshore“face” with all the offshore benefits.

Then you can get a sterling account or even a multi currency account in UK or where you want since you have a uk address.

i think that a company called SFM offshore create that kind of agency.

It's an idea but probably not worth the expense and hassle for a simple checking account. I've pretty much decided to move it all into Euros and deal with the foreign exchange.

Cheers

[mariachalut]

yearh i agree with you... the only advantage with my suggestion is that you can pay lower tax

But for a simple checking account just get all in Euros or CHF since euro go down a lot in forex.

Cheers