Offshore banking currency options

dubairob

I'm a Brit living in Dubai and want to set up a joint offshore account with my wife. I get paid in the local currency (UAE dirham) and have a local bank account. But I'd like to put our spare money in a safe haven that for tax reasons, is outside the UK. I have seen that we can open a sterling, dollar or euro offshore account (I was thinking of going with Lloyds, as I have a UK account with them). What are the pros and cons of going with one of these currencies? I'm considering a euro or dollar account, but I'd appreciate any advice on whether to go sterling, euro or dollar, as so far I haven't seen anything that really outlines why you should choose one over the other. Thanks

Cook_County

Unless you are interested in speculating, general opinion is to invest in the same currency as your liabilities.

Nomad_10

Hi Dubairob,

I was in your exact situation a few months ago. I was looking for an offshore bank account that would allow me to put some money aside in different currencies and away for the nosy tax man.

I started looking into using HSBC and Lloyds offshore but then I found that they seem to have information sharing agreements with most governments, which was very off putting. I also was not keen on their levels of customer service.

I was then recommend by a co-worker to look into using a private bank and they pointed me in the direction of a company called AES International (www.aesfinance.com). They were absolutely great and took all the hassle out of setting the account up.

Within a week I was set up with an account in the IOM and the account was set up to hold Sterling, Euros and NZ Dollars. I was then offered the choice of a Gold Visa card in either Sterling, Euro or Dollars. However, the best bit is that I am able to speak to my account manager and he is able to sort everything out. What a change from the call centres .

Anyway I could go on and on but I would recommend that you get in contact with them as they are always happy to help.