Hi All,

Slightly off track, but I thought it would be interesting to explain the differences with particular banks in Spain - i.e. the "bancos" and "Caja's" (in very broad terms). I'll also explain how I find it easier to transfer money through a specialist currency services, rather than relying on British banks with Spanish branches (i.e. Halifax, Barclays, Lloyds).

There are fundamentally 2 types of banks in Spain, the first are the "Bancos" and the second are the "Cajas"; I sight, Banco Santander and Banco Popular as 2 of the former and Bancaja, La Caixa and Cajamurcia as three of the latter.

The Bancos are similar to the likes of Barclays and NatWest on the High Streets of England & Wales; the Clydesdale Bank for the Scots amongst us and the Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland, both seen North and South of the Irish Border. Whereas, the Cajas are aligned to what we used to affectionately know as the regional Trustee Savings Banks throughout the whole of the British Isles.

Therefore, generally accounts with the Cajas arc cheaper to operate than accounts with the Bancos. Remember too, charges here vary a great deal between individual Banks and so it is always worth checking them carefully, before settling down to one particular Banco or Caja.

I'm currently with Bancaja and not only do I find their customer service brilliant, they always have an english speaking staff member in their branches - that said, I'm not sure how many branches there are throughout Spain (they seem to be quite popular in Murcia, Valencia, Cartagena, etc). I then use a specialist currencies company (Currency Direct) to transfer monthly increments from my Santander (British) account into my Spanish Bancaja.

Mark