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Does anybody know if there is any advantage in setting up an offshore account in Gibralter rather than on mainland Spain? Alan
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Alan, I can't think of any advantage of having an account in Gib - but I'll be interested to see if any financial wizzes respond to this. If you are thinking of maybe using a bank in Gib for business in Spain, I can only think it will complicate things. Transferring funds to/from an off-shore bank to/from Spain is no different from doing so to/from anywhere else i.e. a nightmare (see other threads on transferring money). If you were thinking you could pop over to Gib and go into a branch, that's not possible if you have an off-shore account, and I'm not sure that you can have any other type of account there if you are not resident, but I await correction on this!
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"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
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Depends on reasons why you want it - transferring money will not be as straightforward if you want to use the currency brokers and it will be more costly. You can still get good exchange rates but you will incur charges from the brokers I have spoken to both in the UK and certainly at the receiving bank. Of course if you transfer sterling no exchange rate to worry about although again questionable why you would want to. Have care about withdrawing £ in Gib and then take back to the Uk - it is not legal tender there - even a 2p would you believe and I am told if you try and convert in a bank they will only give you ten to 1 - i.e. you give them ten they give you one.
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Smiley - patrick@marbellamortgages.com www.marbellamortgages.com www.comparetravelcash.co.uk
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I have an account in Gib both sterling and euro. The sterling you can order english sterling but it costs 1% to withdraw the cash! The only advantage is you can bring back to spain and obtain a good rate in an exchange shop but to be honest I now use a corporate account with Hifx which gives me a fab rate and I can forward it wherever I need to pay pay wherever with no bank charges to send only receiving. With iban numbers the cost is extremely low
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Quite frankly m'dear, I don't give a damn!
www.herbalmarbella.com
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Many thanks for the replies. A Spanish bank it is then. I am nearing the time when I have to set up an account in Spain, are there any recommendations? A friend recommended The Bank of Andalucia but during a search I found a web site dedicated to 'avoiding this bank at all costs'! I will be in the Duquesa area so any suggestions will be welcome. Alan
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Depending on what you want to use it for the Banco Halifax Hispania seems a reasonable option, you can transfer money from a UK Halifax account free of charge, exchange rates used are their commercial rates and there are other extra options with the accounts that appear to be attractive.
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Scrufty
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Alan I am in Duquesa too and use the Bank of Andalucia. I have to say I have had no complaints, the staff are very helpful, the internet site is easy to use and they are local. You can tailor the responses from ATM's to be in English . I got my mortgage through them and found it so easy compared with UK. when i am in uk and something needs sorting a quick email usually provokes a response in less that 2 hours ... So in my short experience I have nothing untoward to say about them. john
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Regards
John
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Hi John,
I was interested to read your comments on the Bank of Andalucia my friend also speaks highly of them. The web site I mentioned is very critical of 'hidden costs' as well as very high bank charges. They also had a problem with an unauthorised direct debit being set up on their account. The posting is dated December 2005 so perhaps they have changed their ways now.
Alan
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Alan I don't profess to being an expert and there are others on this message board who will have a wider experience who might like to comment. I do accept your friend is correct about direct debits as my direct debits , for mortgage,power, water etc have been set up by them but i assumed that was normal.. as for charges I haven't had any yet ..its only 4 months old the account..i will revisit my account details. it was all abit rushed as my purchase took less thaan 8 weeks from seeing the property to owning the property so i did the easiest thing ie open account with the bank providing the mortgage. john
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Regards
John
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The only advice I'd like to give is, whichever bank you end up with, ALWAYS check your account regularly for any unexpected transactions (I think all the major Spanish banks now have websites in English also) because it seems that banks can make payments to utility companies, insurance companies etc, without prior authorisation from the account holder. Our bank (BBVA) told us on one such occassion not to worry, as you have a statutory 15 days to contest any such payment! Also, be prepared for lots of confusing commission charges; unlike the UK, there is often (usually/always?) a charge for every individual transaction, although these may only appear on your statement every 3 months as a figure times a number of transactions made in that period.. Our experience has also taught us that banks can sometimes make alarming errors, but shrug them off as if that's all part of the service. We submitted paperwork to our bank for a tax rebate to be credited to our account, but the clerk "hit the wrong button" and the money was paid to Hacienda (tax dept.) instead. When we spotted the mistake, the bank told us we would have to go to Hacienda ourselves to request a refund, as they said they were not able to debit Hacienda. After much arguing, the bank rectified the problem, by "lending" us the money they had erroneously paid out - graciously they agreed not to charge interest on the loan, until they managed to get the money back from Hacienda on our behalf. Incredible? But true.
One other point which may be worth mentioning - banks here usually charge a percentage commission for bankers cheques, which is the usual form of final payment on a property at the Notary. Depending on the amount of the cheque, this can amount to a substantial sum. We have always managed to get the bank to waive this charge altogether (maybe promising lots of future business helps - they still believe all us foreigners are loaded!). When selecting your bank, it may be worthwhile asking about this, particularly if you know you will be needing a large cheque for completion on your property in the near future.
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"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please"
Mark Twain
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Many thanks for the info. At this stage of proceedings (about to complete) it is as well to be armed with as much knowledge as possible.
Alan
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Roberto's comment below reminded me of a friend who's bank transfrerred money to the wrong account and when confronted with the error refused initially to refund the money as the person receiving the money by mistake had spent it!!! 'Impossible ' is the usual response. It did get fixed eventually i am pleased to say.
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Regards
John
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