Which UK bank is most likely to offer my American husband a current account?

Ergates

cx6 said:

I may be wrong but 'not a chance'. Nothing to do with ID - everything to do with fatca - the banks won't touch anyone who is a US citizen with a bargepole because of the onerous reporting requirements

That isn't true.

deadendwaterfall

My aunty was born in the US, yet has a Halifax Reward account. 

Speedbird676

My partner moved to the UK from Australia in 2017 and opened a Club Lloyds account the day after he arrived with no issues. He used his passport, biometric residence permit and council tax bill (I had already added him) as proof of ID and address.

They may be worth a try if you want something more than a basic bank account.

CKhalvashi

Shanwick said:

Chase have explicitly said they will not accept customers who have to file a USA tax return so they are out. 

HSBC (parent of First Direct) might be able to establish an account especially if the deposits qualify for Premier. Their interest rates are terrible but their Premier customer service is used to dealing with international customers.

A basic bank account wouldn't be so bad as a start. Add a LOQBOX loan reporting to the CRAs and within 6-12 months such things will start  to get easier. 

HSBC may have never had the best cash rates, but they definitely are one of the cheapest for holding shares.

They are, as you correctly mention, very international also, which will be helpful in OP's situation.

Daliah

Speedbird676 said:

My partner moved to the UK from Australia in 2017 and opened a Club Lloyds account the day after he arrived with no issues. He used his passport, biometric residence permit and council tax bill (I had already added him) as proof of ID and address.

They may be worth a try if you want something more than a basic bank account.

Does Australia have something like FATCA? I suspect they do not. FATCA is a major hurdle for Americans.

Speedbird676

Daliah said:

Speedbird676 said:

My partner moved to the UK from Australia in 2017 and opened a Club Lloyds account the day after he arrived with no issues. He used his passport, biometric residence permit and council tax bill (I had already added him) as proof of ID and address.

They may be worth a try if you want something more than a basic bank account.

Does Australia have something like FATCA? I suspect they do not. FATCA is a major hurdle for Americans.

They do not.

However, I have plenty of American friends who have opened and continue to operate UK bank accounts with major high street banks with no issues. They have processes in place to comply with their reporting obligations for both FATCA and Common Reporting Standard. Yes, some banks are deterred from accepting customers with overseas tax obligations, particularly the US.

The reason cited by the OP for Santander suggesting their basic bank account was the applicant's lack of UK credit history. I was merely offering an alternative, from personal experience, where the bank offered a mainstream product to a newly arrived citizen of another country with no UK credit history.

Shanwick

Australia is a signatory to CRS so effectively they do have something like FACTA. Banks previously found it easier to avoid people subject to the FACTA requirements but since CRS came along more UK banks are putting in place the information collection needed for either FACTA or CRS reporting. HMRC has put in place a mechanism for UK financial institutions to share the relevant information with HMRC who in turn share it with the relevant national authorities. Banks' attitudes to US Citizens etc. will probably gradually change as they become more familiar with the FACTA and CRS requirements and use the HMRC system to ease the burden of being in compliance - but some will be slower than others.

Alex9384

When I first moved to the UK in 2014, TSB opened me a normal account (ClassicPlus) after less than 2 months.

cx6

Do TSB report your ClassicPlus activity to the IRS or do you do that?

Sensory

cx6 said:

Do TSB report your ClassicPlus activity to the IRS or do you do that?

Both parties have FATCA obligations.