British, resident in Taiwan, really need some help with savings.

galacticaphantom

Hi, i hope this is the right place to ask. I could really use some help with where to put my savings as i've been researching for months, but i'm completely lost. 

I inherited some funds some years ago. Since then they have been invested, but recently i have moved to Taiwan and become resident here. I am currently a student but plan to stay for a while after. 

I have recently withdrawn my investments as my advisor said it was no longer possible to give advice if i am no longer a tax resident or resident in UK. To be honest the unpredictability over the short term concerned me anyway, so i didn't mind withdrawing them. 

My goal was to put the money in fixed rate savings accounts, so i could simply count on a reliable amount of interest each year, however i am finding this a struggle. 

The amount i have is about £215K. 

I am looking at offshore accounts, however the issues i have had are as follows. 

Most of the ones i have tried have said that Taiwan is out of their jurisdiction. 

Out of the ones that do serve residents in Taiwan, i have only found Skipton International to be good to deal with so far. I would be happy to place all of the funds with them, however i am aware that only 50K would be protected. 

As such, i have been dealing with HSBC Expat who have been beyond a nightmare. Awful, practically non-existent customer service and terrible, scary reviews leads me to believe that experience will only get worse.

I have looked at Barclays International, whose reviews are not much better, but who also have a a minimum 100K deposit and again only 50K protection. 

I feel i am running out of options. Ideally i'm simply looking for is a stable 4.5% - 5% annual return, although i don't mind locking the funds away for longer.

Are there any options i'm missing in terms of offshore/international banks? Or any other suggestions? I really don't want to go back into investments as i have no idea what i am doing in that realm and was only there in the first place as i was using the same advisor as my parents. Outside of that situation i would be lost there. 

I would be so grateful of any help as right now it feels like a hopeless situation. 

Thanks so much

ColdIron

NS&I might be worth a look if you have a UK bank account (an issue in itself). Obviously no issue with the protection limit

https://www.nsandi.com/help/join-nsandi/using-nsandi-outside-uk

wmb194

Lloyds International? IIRC in a recent, similar thread someone suggested that someone in Thailand could look at Standard Chartered* in Singapore.

*If you don't know it, another big British Asia-focused bank.

galacticaphantom

ColdIron said:

NS&I might be worth a look if you have a UK bank account (an issue in itself). Obviously no issue with the protection limit

I do have a UK bank account, so that could be an option. 

Thank you so much for the suggestion.

Could you tell me a bit more about it, is it safe? How does it differ from a bank account? 

galacticaphantom

wmb194 said:

Lloyds International? IIRC in a recent, similar thread someone suggested that someone in Thailand could look at Standard Chartered* in Singapore.

*If you don't know it, another big British Asia-focused bank.

Thanks so much. 

Lloyds don't serve residents in Taiwan unfortunately, i've tried there, but i will check out Standard Chartered in Singapore. Appreciate the help

ColdIron

galacticaphantom said:

ColdIron said:

NS&I might be worth a look if you have a UK bank account (an issue in itself). Obviously no issue with the protection limit

Could you tell me a bit more about it, is it safe? How does it differ from a bank account? 

It's National Savings and Investments, the people that do Premium Bonds. It's an executive arm of the UK Treasury, so about as safe as it gets

They are not a retail bank like Barclays but their accounts operate in much the same way. You don't have the £85,000 FSCS protection as you don't need it, if the Treasury goes bust we've all had it. Some of their accounts will accept up to £2,000,000

https://www.nsandi.com/get-to-know-us/why-nsandi

galacticaphantom

ColdIron said:

galacticaphantom said:

ColdIron said:

NS&I might be worth a look if you have a UK bank account (an issue in itself). Obviously no issue with the protection limit

Could you tell me a bit more about it, is it safe? How does it differ from a bank account? 

It's National Savings and Investments, the people that do Premium Bonds. It's an executive arm of the UK Treasury, so about as safe as it gets

They are not a retail bank like Barclays but their accounts operate in much the same way. You don't have the £85,000 FSCS protection as you don't need it, if the Treasury goes bust we've all had it. Some of their accounts will accept up to £2,000,000

Thank you, really appreciate the info

lr1277

The following is speculative as I have no experience with this situation.

There are a number of posts on the Banking and Budgeting board (there is one at the moment) where account holders outside the UK are losing their UK banking facilities.

If you open an International savings account, you may as well open a current account for ex-pats.

Most if not all banks have an international arm based in one of the islands off the UK e.g. Jersey, Guernsey etc.

Most of the international current accounts have minimum balances/investments which given your inheritance you should be able to satisfy. Though I cannot speak for the level of protection you will receive.

galacticaphantom

lr1277 said:

The following is speculative as I have no experience with this situation.

There are a number of posts on the Banking and Budgeting board (there is one at the moment) where account holders outside the UK are losing their UK banking facilities.

If you open an International savings account, you may as well open a current account for ex-pats.

Most if not all banks have an international arm based in one of the islands off the UK e.g. Jersey, Guernsey etc.

Most of the international current accounts have minimum balances/investments which given your inheritance you should be able to satisfy. Though I cannot speak for the level of protection you will receive.

Thank you, appreciate this. Unfortunately it seems that the only two i can look at that can operate with a Taiwanese resident and that have current accounts are HSBC, who so far have been shocking to deal with, and Barclays who have a 100K minimum. I will keep looking though. Thanks again

AndyW79

Why can't you keep your savings in the UK? Residence is conceptual as long as you have an address in the UK which you have had. If you are a British citizen you can open a bank account. I would not move my money to other places when it is safe and sound in our country and FSCS protected.

badger09

AndyW79 said:

Why can't you keep your savings in the UK? Residence is conceptual as long as you have an address in the UK which you have had. If you are a British citizen you can open a bank account. I would not move my money to other places when it is safe and sound in our country and FSCS protected.

Residence isn’t ‘conceptual as long as you have an address in the UK’. Residence, is a question of fact and most UK banks will offer accounts only to UK tax residents. 

OP will struggle to open a new UK savings of current account as many exists have found. 

I echo @ColdIron suggestion to look at NS&I. Not the best rates but some accounts are available to non residents & there’s no concern over FSCS £85k.