Euro deposits overseas

Does anybody have direct experience of depositing Euro or other currencies in Bulgarian Banks, it has recently been brought to my attention that Bulgarian Banks will pay 6 / 7% on 12 month fixed rate Euro deposits, I understand 10% of the interest paid may be held back as tax....I've done some googling and understand a deposit scheme similar to here is in place, .i.e up to €100k, in fact the recovery of your funds if your Bulgarian Banks licence is withdrawn is also outlined...very helpful and unlike here you get your money back in 20 / 30 days but you do have to show up in person over there..

I'm satisfied to bear the risk of leaving cash in Euro's but would like to have this asset working harder than the 3.8% best 12 month rate here at home right now.

Not looking for advice on the rights or wrongs really more so have any of you direct personal experience that is worth sharing, I've read many reports about account opening in Germany etc but I for one would sleep just as easy with the Bulgarian guarantee..

Thoughts:

• 7% is a great return for your money when the ECB base rate is 0.75%.
• You will need to declare the interest with the Irish Revenue and pay 30% DIRT.
• The Bulgarian bank should not charge you deposit interest as a non-resident.
• Have you researched if you can open the account without travelling to Bulgaria?
• Greek and Spanish banks pay some of highest EU deposit rates. There is a reason for this, their respective banks are in serious trouble. The same logic applies to Bulgaria.
• Some of the biggest lenders in Bulgaria are managed by Italy's UniCredit, Greece's National Bank of Greece, Hungary's OTP and Austria's Raiffeisen. [broken link removed] Helps explain the high rates.

Did you go ahead with this palerider?