Want to open bank account up north.

older i get better i was

Hi Folks
I'm thinking of opening a bank account up north so as to have some savings in sterling as I fear for the euro and am now aware that the eu were happy to see ordinary Cypriots have savings taken from them to prop up their banks. So any information, tips, hints etc would be greatly appreciated, should I bring cash? or transfer tru bank? whats best way to do this basically?, thanx in advance.

unclebill98

Make an appointment. Bring 2 forms of id, one with pic and one with address.

You will be given a savings account. Most of the NI banks will not give you a current account unless you've good reason
for it.

You will then have the account details to lodge via the internet etc.

IsMiseJoe

Out of interest which Bank is the best to go with?

older i get better i was

thanks, anyone anything to add info wise?

Peregrinus

You don't have to go North to open a sterling bank account. You can open a sterling bank account (or an account denominated in any foreign currency) in any branch of any bank.

murphaph

Peregrinus wrote: »

You don't have to go North to open a sterling bank account. You can open a sterling bank account (or an account denominated in any foreign currency) in any branch of any bank.

But presumably foreign currency accounts in roi banks would also be subject to any bail in.

Peregrinus

murphaph wrote: »

But presumably foreign currency accounts in roi banks would also be subject to any bail in.

Yes, probably they would. Conversely, euro-denominated accounts outside the RoI would probably not be. (Assuming we are talking here of an Irish govt bail-in, rather than an EU-wide one.)

There’s three distinct risks here, and it’s important to think about which ones worry you, and which ones you need to guard against.

1. Exchange rate risk: If you “fear for the euro”, as the OP puts it, you want to put your savings, or some of them, in another currency, or in assets denominated in another currency. That currency need not be sterling and, whatever currency it is, you do not need to export your savings to do this.

Note that if you do this you are effectively making a bet that sterling (or whatever currency you choose) will appreciate against the euro, or at least not decline against it. On the assumption that your expenses and liabilities are mostly denominated in euros, by putting your assets in another currency you are actually creating a risk for yourself that you do not at present face. In general, you shouldn’t expose yourself to an exchange rate mismatch of this kind unless you contemplate the possibility that, contrary to your expectation, exchange rates could move against you and unless you decide that, if that does happen, it is something you can accept and deal with.

If you decide to go ahead, you need to think carefully about which currency you want. Even if you do decide (for reasons discussed below) that you want to put your savings in an NI bank, that does not require you to use sterling. NI banks, like banks in the RoI, will happily operate accounts in other currencies.

2. Bank solvency: If you fear for the solvency of Irish banks, you want to put your savings, or some of them, in non-Irish banks. That could be the Irish branch of a foreign bank. Conversely, putting your assets in the foreign branch of an Irish bank offers no protection. Obviously, you’ll want to choose a non-Irish bank which you consider to be sounder than any of the the Irish banks.

3. Political risk: If you fear a government levy on savings, you want to put your savings abroad (or, alternatively, in assets which will not be levied). This doesn’t require you to switch them out of euros, though. But it does require you to think about whether you are worried about an Irish government levy, or a similar EU-wide measure; if the latter, Northern Ireland is not far enough.