RaboDirect Ireland will be closing in May


This to me is the most important point. With rates entirely insignificant across the board, the safety of the bank is entirely the most important factor (I would have put this first for long term deposits regardless but it's even more relevant now).

It's like looking over at the substitute team and choosing between the guy picking his nose or the one who forgot his runners.

No less ironic that the very week this happens, the government is trying its best to stop one of the substitutes from trying to sort itself out a bit. The size of the NPL book is probably now the factor I'll be assessing which bank to go with, which is a ridiculous metric to be forced to be used!
 
moneymakeover said:
Rabodirect Online

What's to stop opening an account direct in Netherlands?

We're all in EU?
Click to expand...

The Rabodirect Online banks are a set of five (soon to be four) country-specific subsidiaries. Meanwhile:

Can I open a bank account at a Rabobank in the Netherlands?

Dutch law obliges for Rabobank to establish the identity of every potential customer. Therefore it is mandatory to prove one’s identity in person at one of Rabobank’s offices in the Netherlands.
 
I know the market is fairly uncompetitive for deposits at the moment, but any ideas whether this will prompt some response from remaining banks? In looking at the current Best Buys for deposits, I dont see any real value in the fixed term accounts, KBC 35-day seems about the best compromise for me. Is it worth waiting to see if any other products or rates will come forward?
 

I see the EU are doing a great job with the common market for services, one of the so called pillars of the single market.
 
lollipop said:
Just wondering if anyone has got the letter from Rabodirect on this? It says they have begun notifying customers. Will there be any charges to withdraw your savings? Wondering who to go to also!
Click to expand...
Letter arrived here this morning, with notification and instructions on how to close account.
 
odyssey06 said:
I see the EU are doing a great job with the common market for services, one of the so called pillars of the single market.
Click to expand...
Well, I guess there was always going to be friction in that regard on a continent with a dozen major languages. Nevertheless, through the miracle of Google Translate and navigating my way to a Rabo NL online chat window with a very helpful lady, here's the (almost) complete transcript for anyone interested. It's a bit disjointed due to the asynchronous nature of the conversation but I'm sure the gist of it can be pieced together.

Welkom bij de Rabobank

In deze chat vragen wij u nooit naar beveiligingscodes zoals de inlogcode, signeercode of uw pincode. Wij kunnen deze chat vastleggen voor controle- en coachingsdoeleinden.

Goedemorgen, welkom bij de Rabobank. Mijn naam is Ilona. Waarmee kan ik u helpen?

Hi, I wonder is it possible to converse in English?

That is possible

Thank you very much. I am investigating the possibility of setting up a Rabo bank account in the Netherlands. I am currently a Rabo customer in Ireland.... but Rabo are closing their operation here. So I guess the first question is ... will a Rabo in the NL take a customer from Ireland. I realise it would be necessary to meet in NL to set it up but that would not be a problem.

Can you tell me what the reason is that you wish to open an account in the Netherlands?

I am looking for bank with the highest credit rating. Currently in Ireland that is Rabobank. But Rabo have announced that this is about to close. The other banks in Ireland have no better than BBB credit rating. (I am only looking for savings/deposit services, not general banking)

Unfortunately, that is not possible. You must, however, actively use your account for payments, for example

There is no savings only option? I don't mind having a current account too, and even paying for it, but I am unlikely to use it very much.

We do open accounts for customers who live abroad. These customers use their payment account to receive money from the Netherlands and the payment account is then actively used.

You mean a payment account in their local country from which to send and receive funds? Yes, that would be no problem as it is what I already do with Rabo in Ireland. Transfers are to and from my Bank of Ireland payment account. (Am I understanding this correctly?)

No I mean that customers who previously lived in the Netherlands emigrated abroad. These customers receive money (benefit) from the Netherlands. They actively use their Dutch bank account for payments abroad.

Oh, I understand. So is the scenario I am outlining not possible? -- for an Irish citizen to open a deposit account with Rabo NL and move funds online to and from an Irish current account.

It is only possible if you, in addition to a savings account, actively use the payment account.
May I have your telephone number where you can be reached.

Sure: +353-86-xxxxxxx

Then I will check for you what the possibilities are for you.
And can you give me your name please?

Regarding the payment account -- is there a certain minimum level of activity, i.e. some number of transactions per month?


Apologies: My name is dub_nerd.

Thank you mister nerd.

There is no standard for the number of transitions you have to do on a payment account

By the way, I'm not sure which web pages I navigated -- are you with Rabo in Maastricht or general Rabo NL?

I will consult with one of my colleagues and come back to you here

Should I wait here online, or for a phone call? (Either is no problem)

We are one national service for Rabobank customers throughout the Netherlands

Ok

I will contact you by telephone.

Thank you very much for your help. (I suspect you might good other enquiries from Ireland -- Rabo has 90,000 customers here who are all being closed down on May 19th)

Unfortunately, we are not aware that the offices will close in Ireland.
we are also not in contact with colleagues who work at offices outside the Netherlands

Yes, I understand the Rabodirect banks are separate subsidiaries.

Can you give us an indication what amount you may wish to place with us.

It will be between xxx and xxx. Currently in Rabo Ireland it is xxx

Thank you very much for your response. You will hear from me as soon as possible.

Thanks very much indeed for the help Ilona. I will look out for your call.

One last question
Can you tell me what your assets consist of or how this came about?
I have to ask you this question by law and regulations.


Oh, sorry Ilona, was on another window.
These are personal savings ... originally from xxx
There is an audit trail between bank accounts here which can be established. In other words, I've never deposited a sack of banknotes or anything like that.

I can understand that it is quite a personal question. I want to thank you for answering this

No problem at all. I've nothing to hide

thank you again for your openness
I will get started with it and you will hear me as soon as possible
(my excuse if my sentence structure is not entirely correct)

Uw gesprek is beëindigd. Voordat u het venster sluit, kunt u hier aangeven hoe u deze chat heeft ervaren.
Wat vindt u van de mogelijkheid om te kunnen chatten met de Rabobank?
Hartelijk dank voor uw reactie. U kunt het chatvenster sluiten.
 
dub_nerd - thanks for that.. If you wouldn't mind, please let us know how the phone call goes and if you are successful in opening an account.
 
ive about a hundred quid with rabbo , i had half a million with them for a brief period at one stage in 2011 , good bank to deal with albeit a limited service
 
Excellent work, Mr Nerd.
Will be very interested in the outcome.
I'm surprised Rabo isn't offering its existing customers the option of transferring allegiance to Rabo NL automatically - after all, they will already have all the data they need from existing customers.

Otherwise - Maybe at least Aer Lingus will benefit from this fiasco, they do a return Dublin - Amsterdam for €34.99 each way in March if Rabo insist on a personal appearance in the Nederlands !

Please keep us updated.
 
dub_nerd said:
....

Apologies: My name is dub_nerd.

Thank you mister nerd.

.....
Click to expand...


PSML

grenzgebiet said:
....

....Maybe at least Aer Lingus will benefit from this fiasco, they do a return Dublin - Amsterdam for €34.99 each way in March if Rabo insist on a personal appearance in the Nederlands ! .....
Click to expand...

Not a chance,

With the sort of money we are all talking about, I'm expecting the Rabo corporate jet to come pick us up, and obviously drop us back home afterwards





Both my paperwork and Mrs. Earl's paperwork arrived in the post this morning. I've not read it, but think it fair to say that I know the bones of it already.



.
 
MrEarl said:
With the sort of money we are all talking about, I'm expecting the Rabo corporate jet to come pick us up, and obviously drop us back home afterwards .
Click to expand...

Don't hold your breath. Bear in mind that Rabo have effectively already told the Irish customer base "we don't need no steenkin' €3 bn". And it can't have been that expensive for them with just 31 employees and interest rates near zero. Plus the average Irish deposit is over €30k if I've done my numbers right. They must have already decided they don't want a bunch of foreigners for customers. Which is why I'm not holding my breath ... but I wouldn't mind slinking in the door before it slams shut when they realise there's a bunch more Irish gurriers in the queue.

Btw, I'm not sure there is a corporate jet. I hope not. Isn't that why Rabo are so solid despite the GFC -- they catered mostly for Dutch farmers instead of property moguls.

MrEarl said:
Both my paperwork and Mrs. Earl's paperwork arrived in the post this morning. I've not read it, but think it fair to say that I know the bones of it already.
Click to expand...

Mine too. It contains nothing that I didn't already read on the website.
 

Keytrade in Belgium (used to at least) accept Irish customer applications remotely. I just use the trading account. Savings rates are between 0.05% to 0.2%. They are now owned by Crédit Mutuel ARKEA, which has an A rating. However, this is just in line with the rating for the Irish state so the main benefit would be diversification.
 
Well, credit to Rabobank NL for being pleasant and efficient, but it's no dice. They got back to me to say that they can't open a bank account for me because a Dutch social security number is required, so one would have to be resident there for a few months at least. Seems to be as blunt and as final as that. So as odyssey06 said above, there is no common market for banking services.

Almost unbelievably, when it comes to stashing my life's savings, the choice is now between a small handful of banks that are rated from ropy to very ropy. With a guaranteed bail-in the next time they manage to over-extend themselves on Ireland's favourite blood sport of paying too much for housing.
 

Looking to me like State Savings is best option
 
Well, I closed my account online today. Very simple process, click on the button, put in the IBAN of the account you are transferring to and hit a few digits on the digi-thingy. I didnt have very much left in this account, but what funds are left will be transferred to my PTSB Current AC.

Ive had an account with them for a number of years. Always very easy to deal with and am sorry to see them go.

Now I have to decide what I will do with the 22 cents interest I earned today. I'm off them for lent, so buying 22 penny sweets not an option.
 
Farewell Rabo, in 13 years of outstanding customer service just 1 (small) disappointment when a transfer got bounced back because Sort Code was changed imho without adequate clear prenotification on such change. I will miss your straight talking!
 
Memories indeed. Rabo once interacted on this forum, the CEO himself did, for quite some time back in the day. In a Sunday Business Post article, Rabo once complemented Askaboutmoney.

Rabo were very popular here at one stage especially when money started exiting Irish banks around 2009.
 
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