# Opening French Deposit Acc



## Happy Girl (16 Aug 2010)

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?


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## milic (16 Aug 2010)

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.


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## Lightning (16 Aug 2010)

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


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## milic (16 Aug 2010)

Thanks Ciaran,

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

If so, what did the process involve?

Thanks.


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## Chris (16 Aug 2010)

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.


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## Happy Girl (17 Aug 2010)

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.


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## Chris (17 Aug 2010)

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.


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## Happy Girl (17 Aug 2010)

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.


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## Brendan Burgess (17 Aug 2010)

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.


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## Chris (17 Aug 2010)

Happy Girl said:


> ... 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.


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## davep (17 Aug 2010)

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


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## Happy Girl (24 Aug 2010)

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?


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## Lightning (24 Aug 2010)

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


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## UFC (24 Aug 2010)

Chris said:


> 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


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## UFC (24 Aug 2010)

UFC said:


> 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.


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## Chris (25 Aug 2010)

UFC said:


> 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.


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## DeeKie (25 Aug 2010)

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!


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## mark123can (26 Aug 2010)

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


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## UFC (6 Sep 2010)

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?


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## skrooge (7 Sep 2010)

UFC said:


> 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.


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## Lamps (3 Oct 2010)

UFC said:


> 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?



It may be unhealthy, but notihng like our own here in ireland and its still guarenteed up to 100k.

I reckon i'll open a keytrade account. I know nothing is safe, but i'll spread my money across a few banks.

Id love to open a Dutch Rabo account, but that doesnt seem possible without an address there.


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## Mommah (3 Oct 2010)

I have a french bank account.
They required me to have a french address.
My landlord required me to have a french bank account to provide my address.
Bit of a vicious cycle but we got over it, when the landlord and the bank spoke directly.

I'm not 100% sure about this but I *think* you might have to pay tax on the capital in your account according to french tax law.
You would need to check this out if you were planning to deposit a large amount.

The interest rates in french banks is VERY low.

I struggled to get my account in our joint names.
They were pretty insistant on it being M et Mme John Smith
(All my ID is in my "maiden" name...never changed it)

Eventually 3 cheque books later I got Mary Moore et John Smith.

You have to declare these accounts in your tax returns.

All correspondance comes in french. My french is pretty good, but some of the letters about tax stuff is impenetrable.


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## BazFitz (4 Oct 2010)

Why not use National Irish Bank or Rabobank (i.e. Danske Bank)?

Bricks and mortar branches here in Ireland and the benefits of other countries' deposit protection schemes.


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## Gervan (4 Oct 2010)

The National Irish Bank since 1st October is guaranteed solely by the Irish deposit scheme, not the Danish.


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## DocOc (4 Oct 2010)

*NIB / Danske*



Gervan said:


> The National Irish Bank since 1st October is guaranteed solely by the Irish deposit scheme, not the Danish.


 
Can anyone confirm that this is the case? Thanks.


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## BazFitz (4 Oct 2010)

Gervan said:


> The National Irish Bank since 1st October is guaranteed solely by the Irish deposit scheme, not the Danish.


 
I don't believe that this is the case.


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## Gervan (4 Oct 2010)

> Originally Posted by *Gervan* http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=1088976#post1088976
> _The National Irish Bank since 1st October is guaranteed solely by the Irish deposit scheme, not the Danish._


 
See the info in Best Buys: Lump Sum. 
I phoned and checked with NIB that this was the case.


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