1711JohnB

Hi All

In yesterdays Telegraph is says that Barclays are sending letters to people in Cyprus that unless they have more than £100,000.00 in their bank they should move banks.

It also says that more letters would be sent in due course to expats in countries that Barclays are no longer focussing on. It gives the example of Greece and Malta but Spain and Portugal will be on the cards I expect.

It seems that if you are on holiday or going in the next couple of months it may be wise to ensure you have all documents needed to open a new bank account and move away from Barclays. Who wants all direct debits stopped knowing how harsh the penalties can be from suppliers if they are not paid in time.

I think those needed to open an account are your Fiscal Number and bills from your UK home address as proof of residence in the UK.

Kind regards

John

Jessel

Was the article about expats only banking with Barclays Europe or did it mean that expats with Barclays UK accounts would also be closed if they didn't meet the £100,000 criteria.

newintavira

The article I read referred to expats with UK Barclays accounts. It didn't specifically mention Portugal but who knows...

Fredbargate

They have already pulled out of Gibraltar ( unless you have millions ) and closed many if not all Spanish branches.

GeniB

They signalled their intention to leave Portugal quite a few yrs back. We have held off moving until the 11th hour but looks like that time may have arrived..We certainly didn't want to be caught in anything like the scandal of Espirito Sancto.as friends of ours sadly were..Now it's a question of eeny meeny miny mo...

tootlewagon

Same issue here. I stayed with Barclays PT, even after they closed my local branch in Tavira, as I can conduct most of my transactions online (when in the UK) or via Multibanco (when in PT).

However all of my utility bills are via direct debit, and it will be a big problem if Barclays PT closes.

I wonder if they will facilitate an option to transfer to another PT bank, without me having to start the process of re-applying all over again??

MrBife

I guess they are just keen to base themselves where their ethics are respected and there is less corruption. Places where they can trust the leadership completely - Zimbabwe and Egypt for example. Barclays African unit may buy parent’s Zimbabwe, Egypt banks in ‘low risk’ strategy | Mail & Guardian Africa

GeniB

I am assuming that was 'tongue in cheek' Bife?

GeniB

To prove how brilliant they are, they just fired the Chief Exec..It was engineered by the Vice Chairman..who when the deed was done happily announced that he was arwff too! The Bank of England had to step in and tell the 'numpty' he couldn't leave the ship without a captain or vice captain....How are our confidence levels now folks?

1711JohnB

Latest on the Barclays situation

Barclays Plc (BARC.L) is in exclusive talks to sell its retail banking business in Portugal to Spain's Bankinter (BKT.MC), a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Two sources said Barclays had accelerated the sale of its retail businesses in Portugal and Italy as the British bank tries to speed up its turnaround plan under new Chairman John McFarlane.

The sources said the talks to sell in Portugal, where Barclays has 85 branches, were more advanced than talks to sell in Italy, where it has 90 branches and has started talks with interested parties.

Both businesses, as well as operations in France, are part of Barclays' portfolio of 'non-core' businesses and assets it wants to sell or run down.

The Portuguese sale is likely to include its retail and corporate banking business, but exclude Barclays' investment banking and credit card operations in the country, one of the sources said.

McFarlane - who fired Chief Executive Antony Jenkins this month - has said he wants to speed up an improvement in Barclays' performance, which includes getting rid of the loss-making European retail banking operations.

Barclays sold its retail and corporate banking and wealth management business in Spain to CaixaBank (CABK.MC) for about 800 million euros ($876 million) in September. The British bank made a loss after tax on the sale of about 500 million pounds.

The Portuguese business is expected to be sold at less than the price Barclays holds its assets at, one of the sources said.

Portugal's banking sector is in a state of flux as authorities try to sell Novo Banco, the third-largest bank in terms of assets, which was born out of last year's state rescue of Banco Espirito Santo.

Bankinter CEO Maria Dolores Dancausa said after results on Thursday the Spanish bank was "more a buyer than a seller" when asked if it was an acquisition target.

mfesharne

On the subject of Barclays and ethics, you might like to Google the term 'Barclays Bank & Robert Mugabe' or similar and you'll find that for decades, not years but DECADES, they've been financing the illegal & genocidal regime of Robert Mugabe to the tune of something like USD100M each and every year for no apparent reason or return.

Norman Lamb MP has raised the subject in the House of Commons on several occasions but has never been able to get any answers.

Any account holder who is uncomfortable with that should move to another bank.

newintavira

Two issues are being confused here:

One is Barclays winding down and selling Barclays Portugal.

The other is talk of Barclays UK closing down the UK accounts of expats if they have less that £100k in them. It's not yet been confirmed that this is happening to expats in Portugal, but it does apply to expats in Cyprus and Malta.

A year or two ago Barclaycard did a similar thing to expats with dormant UK Barclaycard accounts.

GeniB

Anyone got any suggestions on an ethical bank to move to in Portugal?

barlaventoexpert

Just a point...

Bob Mugabe's regime is not "illegal".

He has been voted in so many times overwhelmingly by massive majorities of the Zimbabwe electorate that even with all the the intimidation etc., one cannot consider his government illegal.

Genocidal, Yes!!! Disastrous, Yes!

Illegal, No! This implies that the real cultprits are not just the Mugabe Govt. but also a majority of the Zimbabwe population. (for which read the Shona!)

As regards, the Barclays takeover in Portugal, is has been reported this week that Barclays are in talks with BankInter in Spain to take over thir Portuguese Retail Operations.

Bankinter negoceia compra de ativos de retalho do Barclays em Portugal | Banca & Seguros | Dinheiro Digital

mfesharne

FFS - Of course it's bloody illegal......... he's stolen the majority of the elections he's taken part in.