[MXZ]

Hi,

I've finally made the move from the UK to HK. So far everything seems to be going nicely

I bank with HSBC in the UK and so when I came over to HK earlier in the year I opened an account with HSBC HK too. Fortunately for me the process was rather painless and the account was opened without any trouble.

However when I left the UK, HSBC were trying to get me to open an account with HSBC International which is based in Jersey.

Thing is, I could be being thick here, but all they seem to offer (www.offshore.hsbc.com) is what I have with my UK account only less features and stupid minimum opening balances.

Can anyone see why it would be a good idea to open such an account instead of keeping the money in the UK?

I imagine Jersey is a bit more private but I don't have anything to hide so I'm not really all that fussed about that side of things....

So... what am I missing?

Cheers!

[aussiegal]

It just sounds way better to say your Jersey account..

[PDLM]

The good thing about Jersey is that it is inside the UK banking system (sort codes etc) so transfers to other UK banks are free, but it is outside the UK tax system.

If you only plan to be outside of the UK for a short period there's probably not much benefit, but if you have emigrated for good then it might make sense to close down your onshore UK account and replace it with an offshore one. This will help with issues of domicile and inheritance later, as well as for tax.

HSBC Offshore has a small team of business development and relationship managers here in Hong Kong, and they seem like a good bunch of people - no hard sell and happy to advise on the best options for you.

If you are an HSBC Premier customer then simply ask your relationship manager to put you in touch with the HSBC Jersey team here. If you're not then send me a PM and I'll give you their details.

[MXZ]

Hehe it does have something of a cool factor about it

I noticed from their website that they have a branch in HK - are there any other benefits to this? Can you transfer money quickly to HK etc?

Forgot to ask - why not just move the GBP to the savings account in HK? Just seems to be so many options

[PDLM]

You can transfer money between HSBC Premier accounts around the world free of charge. It's overnight between HK & Jersey.

You can also get a fairly integrated view of your accounts worldwide through the online banking system.

And the interest rates on GBP/Euro/USD savings accounts in Jersey tend to be 1-2%pa better than in HK.

[HowardCoombs]

- Much Better interest rates
- Free transfers between premium accounts
- "Jersey" sounds cool
- Safe from prying eyes of multiple jurisdictions
- Account managers in HKG are very cute :-)
- Can get credit/debit cards and cheques denominated in GBP/EUR/USD
- Fully integrated online access
- Not too bad wealth managment group in HKG
- Very good personal service; much better than the standard HSBC HongKong relationship managers (I've been thru 8 of them, most were clueless)
- Did I mention the AMs are cute!

HC

[DanielandHayley]

Originally Posted by HowardCoombs

- Much Better interest rates
- Free transfers between premium accounts
- "Jersey" sounds cool
- Safe from prying eyes of multiple jurisdictions
- Account managers in HKG are very cute :-)
- Can get credit/debit cards and cheques denominated in GBP/EUR/USD
- Fully integrated online access
- Not too bad wealth managment group in HKG
- Very good personal service; much better than the standard HSBC HongKong relationship managers (I've been thru 8 of them, most were clueless)
- Did I mention the AMs are cute!

HC

you think they're cute and you've been through 8 of them...somebody likes banking staff!

[Katanga]

PDLM has summarised it best for you.

I opened an off shore account too with HSBC.

If you leave your money in the UK, tax will be deducted. You can claim it back via your tax return but only to the extent of your personal allowances which is about GBP4k.

HSBC off-shore does not give you the bext savings rate but it is the most convenient in terms of the great service at their office in Central, completely integrated on-line statements, easy transfers etc.

Assuming you have the GBP60,000, open the Premier account.

If you have more, use HSBC as your conduit account but there are better savings rates available with other Banks in Jersey like BoS, Alliance and Leicester etc.

Finally, if the money you have in your UK account is less than GBP70k or so, leave it there as the tax decuted could be claimed back.