Transfer 150k EUR to GBP ?

spuk1

Hello all,

I'm a HSBC Premier client from another european country and I recently moved to London (as I got a job offer in the city..)

I have more or less 150K Euros and the purpose is to have one and only account in UK, so asap I will close all the accounts in the other country.

I already have my new HSBC Premier account in UK but I didn't transfer all my money yet, as I'm still thinking if it's better:
a) transfer everything to GBP or
b) open an offshore account and keep something in euros (Jersey island or something) like my financial adviser proposed to me.

In your opinion, what is the the best choice (financially) ?

Thanks and regards,

innovate

Assuming we are talking of an individual [as opposed to a joint] account, it would be immensely stupid, particularly of somebody with a job in the City, to put more than £85K (allowing for interest accrual, too) into any single financial institution.

Apart from that, a City professional should be posting with help here, rather than asking for help.

spuk1

Thanks for your feedback innovate, all comments are really welcome.

Well, since you don't know let me tell you that I'm 33 years old and actually I work in IT - all city jobs aren't about finance right?

Basically I've been enjoying life and travelling around Europe working as an IT consultant but I'm here because I want to learn more about investments and finance like all of you right?

I'm also aware about the 85K FSCS protection but 100K GBP (150K eur) isn't that much and honestly (and you can say whatever you want) but HSBC is too big to fail (even if the worst scenario happens, UK government will do the same as RBS and Lloyds)

Also and just for the record I don't need that money for the moment but I'm thinking in buying an apartment in London within one year.

That said, what would you do in my place guys? Come one share all ideas please!

Cheers

P.S - Yes it's an individual account

xylophone

Also and just for the record I don't need that money for the moment but I'm thinking in buying an apartment in London within one year.

It's really a question of the rate of exchange movement between the pound and the euro? A guess/gamble really?

But if you are buying in the UK you'll pay in sterling so might wish to convert now and know where you are? No need to worry about the £85000 limit if you open an account with NS&I? http://www.nsandi.com/savings

innovate

spuk1 wrote: »

.... but HSBC is too big to fail (even if the worst scenario happens, UK government will do the same as RBS and Lloyds)...

By all means, ignore the £85K warnings. As a loser, you could find yourself in very good company if a "haircut" of depositors was found to be an appropriate measure. Precisely this has happened quite recently, it could happen again, and it is a heck of a lot more likely than another tax-payer bailout.

ozzage

I'm not sure why you got hit with such an unfriendly response.

Obviously new to London you're not going to know the ins and outs of everything and I don't see how working in the city makes you an instant expert about everything financial.

Clearly it's your call as to whether to ignore the £85K limit. I would also potentially do it if I was JUST over.. but for €150K... probably not!

In terms of the money transfer, what is the advantage of having an off-shore account? If you want to buy a property here, you need sterling anyway so I'd just bring it across. Check the fees though... if the plan is that you keep moving around between countries then maybe having an offshore account is useful... it's outside my experience though.

If you wanted to keep some money in EUR I would leave it in your home country, although I understand the attraction of simplifying things by reducing accounts.

jabba42

Having a jersey account would only be any good if you were trying to save tax on interest, but even then you probably have administration fees to set up a company to do it. With interest rates where they are that would be an utter waste of time.

bigadaj

OP I would split this money and keep half in euros and half in sterling, safer as in two institutions you are under the typical guarantee limits.

However exchange rates with the big banks are frequently at poor rates or high charges, so look at a currency broker to two and compare their rates to HSBC.

innovate

ozzage wrote: »

I'm not sure why you got hit with such an unfriendly response.

It's not as if working in London is terribly different to working anywhere else in Europe. OK, the currency is a bit different but apart from that, nothing is fundamentally different to any Euro country (which the OP says (s)he hails from).

A non-UK national IT professional who is smart enough to land themselves with a job in the City, who has €150K to shift about, and who is thinking of buying property in London, should know better what to do with their money than asking on an MSE forum.

I have no objections to non-UK nationals working in the UK, btw (I might be one of them myself). I am just focusing on facts.

FatherAbraham

spuk1 wrote: »

I'm a HSBC Premier client from another european country and I recently moved to London (as I got a job offer in the city..)

I have more or less 150K Euros and the purpose is to have one and only account in UK, so asap I will close all the accounts in the other country.

I already have my new HSBC Premier account in UK but I didn't transfer all my money yet, as I'm still thinking if it's better:
a) transfer everything to GBP or
b) open an offshore account and keep something in euros (Jersey island or something) like my financial adviser proposed to me.

In your opinion, what is the the best choice (financially)?

You're mixing up two things.

One question is whether you should exchange your wealth held in euros to pounds.

The other question is whether you should bring your wealth into the UK at all, which is a taxation-related question.

If you're domiciled (not resident) in Bongoland, then as long as you don't remit funds to the UK, they shouldn't be liable to UK taxation on income derived from them. That's probably why advisers are talking about offshore juridictions. There's no illegal tax evasion going on here, just prudent tax avoidance. If you remit those funds to the UK (whether you hold them in GBP, USD, EUR or whatever), they will be liable to UK taxation as long as you remain resident. Not too clever.

As to the first question, the answer is that the market always gives a fair price for currency exchange, so statistically, it doesn't matter when you exchange. People who think they know what currency rates will do in the future are nutcases.

Warmest regards,
FA

jabba42

FatherAbraham wrote: »

You're mixing up two things.

One question is whether you should exchange your wealth held in euros to pounds.

The other question is whether you should bring your wealth into the UK at all, which is a taxation-related question.

There's no illegal tax evasion going on here, just prudent tax avoidance. If you remit those funds to the UK (whether you hold them in GBP, USD, EUR or whatever), they will be liable to UK taxation as long as you remain resident. Not too clever.


Warmest regards,
FA

There is withholding tax in all EU countries now, so he will still be taxed at source on any interest anyway.