cheapest place to buy Swiss Francs?

ross81

I doubt any of the big banks will give a good rate. Anyone know of somewhere reliable online that gives a decent rate?

Sheldons Brain

What do you mean exactly? Transferring money to Switzerland or just getting a few francs for the trip?

ross81

basically trying to convert a good chunk of savings into a few non-Euro currencies, starting with CHF.

Amirani

You are aware that the Swiss Central Bank is setting artificial ceilings on the value of the Franc relative to the Euro?

As regards your question, roughly what sort of amount are you talking and how liquid do you want your Franc holding to be?

ross81

Diego Simeone wrote: »

You are aware that the Swiss Central Bank is setting artificial ceilings on the value of the Franc relative to the Euro?

As regards your question, roughly what sort of amount are you talking and how liquid do you want your Franc holding to be?

thought the removal of the Euro peg in January largely brought an end to this SNB policy. Anyway, was thinking around €12k and doing a bit more research today it seems that setting up a deposit account in Switzerland may be the way to go, despite the poor interest rates for small amounts.

Amirani

ross81 wrote: »

thought the removal of the Euro peg in January largely brought an end to this SNB policy. Anyway, was thinking around €12k and doing a bit more research today it seems that setting up a deposit account in Switzerland may be the way to go, despite the poor interest rates for small amounts.

It did remove the official floor when they stopped the peg. However, they have admitted buying Euro in recent times as the Greece situation has looked like driving up the Franc's value.

With 12k, I'd say you're probably best looking at a deposit account. It won't make you money though, though I realise you're not really looking for that

ixus

Euro swiss floor of 1.20 was removed. Currently around 1.05. Your risk is they put in another floor (they have said they could do that).

Are you moving your cash due to event risk of a euro break up? Why not put your cash into a european country that would have a strong appreciation in this event, like Germany.

FX is extremely volatile at the moment, so factor in the % swings you might see as opposed/in addition to the interest you'll get.

ross81

ixus wrote: »

Are you moving your cash due to event risk of a euro break up? Why not put your cash into a european country that would have a strong appreciation in this event, like Germany.

yes to the 1st question. Am worried about the continuously high debt levels across the Eurozone. Also, when you factor in the large derivatives exposure of Deutsche Bank, that is something to consider in regards to the German banking system itself. There's no such thing as a completely safe haven of course & yes the SNB could bring in another peg. For me though it does make sense diversifying in the current climate, especially since Spain & Italy are likely to be far bigger headaches for the Eurozone than Greece.

ixus

ross81 wrote: »

yes to the 1st question. Am worried about the continuously high debt levels across the Eurozone. Also, when you factor in the large derivatives exposure of Deutsche Bank, that is something to consider in regards to the German banking system itself. There's no such thing as a completely safe haven of course & yes the SNB could bring in another peg. For me though it does make sense diversifying in the current climate, especially since Spain & Italy are likely to be far bigger headaches for the Eurozone than Greece.

Doesn't have to be DB. Could be a Dutch bank etc. Can also look at banks in the Isle of Man i.e. HSBC Isle of Man account in USD, GP etc.

It's perfectly legal as long as you declare to revenue and pay the DIRT due to them.

arrowloopboy

Is it really worth the bodder with 12k ,not been flippant ,but whats the worse that could happen,the Euro is in the sh1tter at the minute,and yes it could get worse in the coming days/weeks .
Crude is looking cheap and could even become cheaper if a deal is brokered between Iran and the us in the coming days ,the downside is probably $40 a barrel minimum ,with an upside of anything above $80,thats $12 a barrel downside with a possible $30 upside at todays prices ,and yes I realise the exposure to usd,but ,if it heads back to the lows of $42 ,a fool would make shed loads of cash if time were on his side,just a thought .......:)

ross81

arrowloopboy wrote: »

Is it really worth the bodder with 12k ,not been flippant ,but whats the worse that could happen,the Euro is in the sh1tter at the minute,and yes it could get worse in the coming days/weeks .
Crude is looking cheap and could even become cheaper if a deal is brokered between Iran and the us in the coming days ,the downside is probably $40 a barrel minimum ,with an upside of anything above $80,thats $12 a barrel downside with a possible $30 upside at todays prices ,and yes I realise the exposure to usd,but ,if it heads back to the lows of $42 ,a fool would make shed loads of cash if time were on his side,just a thought .......:)

I wouldn't really want to speculate on price of oil unless I had a good amount of cash that I could afford to lose. Just cant afford to do that right now unfortunately.