Savings account abroad?

Mishomeister

Are there any countries which offer savers a reasonable interest rate and have a protection similar to FSCC in UK.

I mean the countries which have a low risk of having their economies going bust. Such as Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Australia for example?

Is it possible to get a savings account there without leaving the UK?(though a short Ryanair trip to say Norway might still pay off)

gozomark

what currency do you want ?

Mishomeister

gozomark wrote: »

what currency do you want ?

Not really bothered as long as it is not inflating too much and the return is better than miserable 3%(if you are lucky) in the UK

innovate

Mishomeister wrote: »

(though a short Ryanair trip to say Norway might still pay off)

Are you having a larf?

How much of the potential additional (and completely unconfirmed) interest would you need to earn to pay for your trip to Norway, and then still be left with a return that will be higher than what you can get in a poor UK savings account?

Leaving all other factors aside, you won't have anything like the FSCS protection if you choose to put your money anywhere abroad. So please do go ahead, but don't expect any sympathy when you get back in a mess

grey_gym_sock

how does an economy go bust, anyway? a government can default on its debts, but not go bust - i.e. its creditors don't get to take over its remaining assets. but a whole economy?

sounds like a gesture of despair about the UK, rather than a practical plan. perhaps now that you've got that out of your system, you can move on to a more sensible plan

Mishomeister

innovate wrote: »

How much of the potential additional (and completely unconfirmed) interest would you need to earn to pay for your trip to Norway, and then still be left with a return that will be higher than what you can get in a poor UK savings account?

On the amount of £20,000 in the UK I can get 2.5% pa which is £500.00. If I can have an account in Norway that pays me 5% pa after tax this earns me a £1000.00 pa. You can get a return trip to Oslo from London for a tiny £41.00 return meaning I am already £459.00 better for that year.

I am also not claiming this is what the rates in Norway are I am instead asking for an information from a knowledgeable people who perhaps visit those countries often or has dealings with the banks of those countries so they could advice me of the rates available.

innovate wrote: »

Leaving all other factors aside, you won't have anything like the FSCS protection if you choose to put your money anywhere abroad.

So you are trying to say that the UK is the only country which has a Government protections such as FSCS.
Sorry mate but you are definitely wrong on this

innovate wrote: »

So please do go ahead, but don't expect any sympathy when you get back in a mess

I am not asking for an opinion here if I should go ahead but for a factual information instead.

Norway current credit rating(according to Moodys) is: AAA STABLE - Aaa

Canada - AAA STABLE - Aaa

Australia - AAA STABLE - Aaa

United Kingdom - AAA NEGATIVE - AA1

It is therefore considered being safer to invest in those countries rather than UK

I also see less risk of putting the money in to savings account in Norwegian bank rather than investing in to shares in the UK.

Mishomeister

I am therefore now back to my original question about the information of the savings accounts in a foreign countries with a stable economies and the ways of getting a saving account there.

innovate

Mishomeister wrote: »

On the amount of £20,000 in the UK I can get 2.5% pa which is £500.00. If I can have an account in Norway that pays me 5% pa after tax this earns me a £1000.00 pa. You can get a return trip to Oslo from London for a tiny £41.00 return meaning I am already £459.00 better for that year.

If that is the extent of your calculations of the cost of a trip to Norway, then all I can do is wish you the best of luck with your finances.

Mishomeister wrote: »

So you are trying to say that the UK is the only country which has a Government protections such as FSCS.
Sorry mate but you are definitely wrong on this

I know very well that other countries have equivalents to the FSCS guarantee, especially those in the EU. But these are for their citizens in the first instance. Anyone who has lived through the Icesave debacle knows that foreign guarantee schemes could possibly be worth nothing. Gordon Brown even had to enforce a terrorist law against Iceland, and they still laughed it off.

Mishomeister wrote: »

....according to Moodys....

Moodys? You mean the guys who accurately forecast the collapse of the likes of Lehman Brothers and RBS? Ah no, they didn't.....

Mishomeister

innovate wrote: »

Moodys? You mean the guys who accurately forecast the collapse of the likes of Lehman Brothers and RBS? Ah no, they didn't.....

So according to you the countries like Greece and Cyprus are doing OK and Moodys are just wrong about their diagnosis on above?

G_M

Come on guys- give the OP a break!

With UK interest rates as they are, it's a question at least considering...

OK - he's a bit naive. He'd almost certainly need an overnight hotel, and food etc - but then he might combine it with a romantic city break.......

Then there's exchange rate fluctuations etc etc.

But nonetheless, no harm in asking the Q to see if there actually IS a country with higher interest rates, and some kind of FSCS-type protection, where he might want to spend a couple of days/nights with his other half....

innovate

Mishomeister wrote: »

So according to you the countries like Greece and Cyprus are doing OK and Moodys are just wrong about their diagnosis on above?

LOL, where have I said which countries do OK? Though I do admit, I don't think it needs Moodys to make me realise that not all might be well in Greece or Cyprus. Your average financial journalist, or even blogger, usually are well ahead of the Rating Agencies in assessing the state of the nations....

If you seriously think about investing, or even just saving, somewhere Moodys say is ok, I urge you to do a bit more research.