The following question & answer was posted on Friday October 13th 2006.
I have recently moved to France and wish to open a savings account or bond with an offshore institution. I?d feel more comfortable using a name I know from the UK. Can you offer me any pointers as to the more recognisable institutions that currently offer low-risk savings products?
Mark King provided the following answer:
Plenty of UK high street names operate offshore savings accounts aimed at expatriates, including Nationwide, Bradford & Bingley, Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Cheltenham & Gloucester. However, not all offer competitive rates.
HSBC International currently offers an online saver account paying the euro equivalent of 2.80 per cent gross (5.55 per cent in sterling) and a deposit account fixed for a year at 2.812 per cent for euro savers.
Elsewhere, Bank of Scotland International offers a range of fixed-rate accounts (the best paying a sterling equivalent of 5.5 per cent) as well as a variety of capital guaranteed savings bonds which pay a rate of interest linked to the performance of certain stock market indices. Tread carefully here because, while your capital may be guaranteed, the rate of interest may not be and you may have to lock your cash up for a certain period.
Yorkshire Guernsey is a popular choice for offshore savers, paying 5.25 per cent gross per annum on £5,000+ in its Rollover Bond.
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