Deposit options outside irish banks

Almaviva

I have deposits in both AIB and BofI. Substantial to me, but in both cases, below the e100,000 government guarantee.

However, I wish to insure against any of the following :
- guarantee is removed or reduced and loss of some or all deposit
- losses due to Ireland being removed from the Euro, and we are back to a Punt which is devalued
- euro currency crisis and collapsing value of the euro.


Avoiding any debate on whether any of the above could happen or what the probabilities are, which of the following are easily doable options for me :

- move the cash to banks operating in Ireland, but who have the backing of a foreign reliable bank and not the Irish governement.
- change my deposit accounts to ones in Irish banks based on Sterling or Dollars
- open an account in the North of Ireland in Sterling or Euro ?
- open an account in another Eurozone country in euros, sterling or dollars ?

I would much prefer to stay in cash deposits, and purchasing foreign currency quoted shares or gold etc will be a last resort if I cannot do something along the lines of the options above.

Thanks.

chris85

what about RaboBank. AAA rated bank.

www.rabodirect.ie

S0L0N

World’s 50 Safest Banks 2010 - Global Finance Magazine

http://www.gfmag.com/tools/best-banks/10533-worlds-50-safest-banks-2010.html#axzz1FHl9fyCs

RaboBank is listed at number 6.

Jim2007

Given your 3 requirements I'd say none of the four options will achieve the objective for you! You simply can't avoid some level of financial risk, you need to rank the risks some how...

But having said that and assuming the sums involved are close to €100K I'd say they are all doable, but of course the opening of an account in another country would require travel...

Another option that you might want to think about is to buy money market funds from a broker and avoid the banks altogether, but again there are still risks involved....

Good luck with that,

Jim.

Jannise

chris85 wrote: »

what about RaboBank. AAA rated bank.

www.rabodirect.ie

I have accounts in Rabo and Northernrock-Ireland. However, even as they are guaranteed by foreign country, they are based in Ireland, and your money with them are still in Ireland.

Almaviva wrote: »

- losses due to Ireland being removed from the Euro, and we are back to a Punt which is devalued

So in situation like mentioned above, i think the money will still be affected.
I hope i am mistaken, but to be on safe side, i have opened an offshore account with Barclays today. Just started today, but it looks straightforward so far.

Sheep Shagger

Jannise wrote: »

I have accounts in Rabo and Northernrock-Ireland. However, even as they are guaranteed by foreign country, they are based in Ireland, and your money with them are still in Ireland.




So in situation like mentioned above, i think the money will still be affected.
I hope i am mistaken, but to be on safe side, i have opened an offshore account with Barclays today. Just started today, but it looks straightforward so far.

This is wrong, the likes of Rabobank and Ulsterbank are regulated by their respective central banks and also rely of the state guarantees in their respective countries (not Ireland).

Getting into offshore accounts is OTT in my opinion, you also start getting into tax issues etc. If you are concerned about the Euro collasping then no matter where in the world your Euros are (onshore or offshore) you are at risk. If you want to avoid that risk yo'ud have to sell Euro for another currency and invest in that.

Jannise

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

This is wrong,

Getting into offshore accounts is OTT in my opinion, you also start getting into tax issues etc. If you are concerned about the Euro collasping

I really hope that i am wrong, but i am more concerned not with Euro collapsing, but with losses due to Ireland being removed from the Euro, and then the country is back to what ever currency and all the savings in Irish bank accounts will be devalued.

I do not wish to discuss how crazy is that idea, or how unrealistic, i do not care about it. I just care about my savings.

Sheep Shagger

If Ireland are ever kicked out of the euro (and we get another currency) what will you do with the Euros you have in Barclays abroad? If you ever want to spend them in Ireland you'd need to change them for the new currency (and take the FX hit then). Of course you can still spend them as normal in the other member states.

If you are going down the offshore route make sure you are tax compliant on the interest income.

Jannise

I am planning to leave Ireland in the next 1-2 years, so i won't be spending a cent here.

Jim2007

Sheep Shagger wrote: »

This is wrong, the likes of Rabobank and Ulsterbank are regulated by their respective central banks and also rely of the state guarantees in their respective countries (not Ireland).

All banks, regardless of their origin, offering services to the public in Ireland must be authorised to do so and are subject to the Irish regulatory authorities.

In the case of Rabobank, it would appear that Irish clients may benefit from the Dutch government guarantee if certain conditions are met.

Jim.

skinthegoat

I spoke to Rabo about the possibility of a Euro collapse and the situation that would prevail here in Ireland. What it boils down to is that in the event of a dissolution of the euro, or some sort of Irish disengagement from it, your deposits, whilst enjoying the conditions of the Dutch guarantee, would be converted to whatever new Irish currency might emerge. In other words, it might be of use for little else but wallpaper. What people are looking for, I feel, is a situation where their deposits might be guaranteed in a putative post-apocalyptic stable currency, something like a new euro or an old guilger or deutschmark. Does anyone know how to achieve this?

femur61

I was talking to a financial adviser about this recently, he advised move money from AIB, PTSB, to an UK bank here for our daily banking, we're not moving. Also like with have savings so we're taking a trip up to NI. France and Germany are experiencing growth at the moment not the UK but easier for us to go up north.