Opening French Deposit Acc

[Happy Girl]

Am considering opening a euro deposit account in France by way of diversification i.e. not having vast majority of deposits in irish banking system. Any views (pros, cons, logic?) much appreciated. Is there really any advantage in me doing this?

 

[milic]

Hi happy Girl.

Interesting proposal in context of diversification. What are the logistics involved in opening deposit account in France?
Can one visit the office of, say, BNP Paribas in Dublin and open an account with them or does one have to deal a bank branch in France?

I have often wondered about that. Excuse my ignorance.

 

[Lightning]

You need to go to the bank in France. You might be able to figure out a way to do it online.

 

[milic]

Thanks Ciaran,

Has anyone out there opened a bank account in another euro zone country online?

If so, what did the process involve?

Thanks.

 

[Chris]

I have an account with Keytrade Bank in Belgium. The account allows for deposits and buy equities. I think the interest is about 2.2%. All done online, and quite simple to set up.

 

[Happy Girl]

I have googled this quite a bit and the following website gives a good deal of information.
http://www.frenchentree.com/fe-finance/displayarticle.asp?id=623
However it is people's views on actually doing it I would be grateful for. Pros/Cons etc.

 

[Chris]

OK, here is my opinion on moving cash offshore in general.
Cons:
- deposit guarantee may not be as high
- interest rates may be lower with banks that are in a better financial position
- financial stability of foreign country could change
- more difficult to walk into the bank if it finds itself in diffculty
- taxation of interest abroad is a bit different, I don't believe you pay DIRT but income tax, but get some advice on this

Pros:
- protection from Irish banks that are in dire situations
- protection from the dirty hands of increasingly desparate politicians, i.e. wealth confiscation
- protection from default of Irish state and banks

You could also look further afield, like Germany and Switzerland.

 

[Happy Girl]

Thanks for that Chris. Very useful, I suppose we are looking at france because it is where we spend one month in the summer each year on hols and also it is the long term plan to locate there in our retirement on a much longer term basis. Not completely familiar with economic situation in France so need to investigate further before taking any action.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

I understand that you will pay income tax on the full amount of interest instead of tax. But the interaction of Irish and French tax systems complicates matters further.

 

[Chris]

... need to investigate further before taking any action.

That is the most important thing. Don't take anything I, or anyone else, says for gospel. There are plenty of people that disagree with me and that will give you other reasons for not doing it. Always do your own research and come to your own conclusions and decisions. That way there is only one person you can blame if it turns out to be the wrong decision.

 

[davep]

Hi,
I have a home in the Languedoc and had to open an account there. The French system of banking is "strange" to us. Our bank is the Credit Agricole du Languedoc. I think you would need a face to face meeting in the bank. You would need lots of documents. Passport, marriage cert, utility bill (if any). The charges are very high by our standards. About €7 per month just to have an account. I lost the pin number on my bank card and had to pay €16 to get another number!! We transfer cash to our account there from AIB here. It works a dream. As to just opening an account from here in France, I am sorry but i have no experience of this. Just remember you will be charged for everything. Hope this helps in some way, if not post an email contact and I will answer anything else I can.
Dave

 

[Happy Girl]

How about the position with opening a deposit account rather than a current account. We would not be residing there so a french chequebook would serve no purpose really. Is it possible to open a deposit account if we are not resident there?

 

[Lightning]

In short, yes. An Irish resident can open a deposit account in France, if the French bank, as they often do, allows you to.

 

[UFC]

I have an account with Keytrade Bank in Belgium. The account allows for deposits and buy equities. I think the interest is about 2.2%. All done online, and quite simple to set up.

Chris, when you were researching these guys did you come across anything about Belgium's deposit guarantee scheme or anything like that?

Also, how long does it take to transfer and withdraw money to and from your Irish bank account?

Thanks

 

[UFC]

Chris, when you were researching these guys did you come across anything about Belgium's deposit guarantee scheme or anything like that?

Also, how long does it take to transfer and withdraw money to and from your Irish bank account?

Thanks

OK, I just asked their customer service and Belgium has a 100k deposit guarantee scheme, and their accounts have no fees.

 

[Chris]

OK, I just asked their customer service and Belgium has a 100k deposit guarantee scheme, and their accounts have no fees.

I believe that sounds right. Just keep in mind that the guarantee was increased to 100k from I think 20k, so it is possible that at some time in the future this will be reversed.

As for transferring funds, it is very simple. It takes about 1-2 days to transfer in and about the same out.

As already mentioned, you will have to check the details on tax liability on the interest. As far as I am aware it is income tax, not DIRT, that you have to pay on the interest. This is not an issue for me personally, as the motivation for having the funds abroad is not based on maximising income, but rather protecting assets.

 

[DeeKie]

If anyone knows of a way to earn more on a deposit rate compared to here then that would be interesting to hear too. Good post HG!

 

[mark123can]

australia is paying about double the interest of ireland so if u were happy to convert it all into australian dollars you would get twice the interest

the down side is if the aussie dollar loses value so does your investment

 

[UFC]

I've been reading a good bit about the Belgian banking scene and apparently it's very unhealthy at the moment.

Does anyone know of any other EU banks who offer accounts in English/online?

 

[skrooge]

I've been reading a good bit about the Belgian banking scene and apparently it's very unhealthy at the moment.

Does anyone know of any other EU banks who offer accounts in English/online?

A case of far fields seem greener. we all know the state that the Irish banking system is in and you could be forgiven for thinking that things are better abroad -to a certain degree they are but you are unlikely to find a national banking system that is thriving. The eurozone as a whole is jsut about creeping along. If you are that risk averse your best bet is looking at individual ratings of banks. On that front Rabobank is AAA rated by the main ratings agency.

Rememebr theres no such thing as a 100% safe bank - especially in these times.