I have dual HSBC UK and HSBC Canada accounts.
As someone else said you can there is some degree of universal management between them both and transfering money can be easy (if a poor exchange rate).
Personally I try to do all my transfers using transferwise to get a better rate, but it requires a day or 2 to go through.

Pros:
Similar management for both accounts.
Can see global balances easily
Easy management

Cons:
Transfers directly between banks have poor exchange rate.
Poor customer service from most HSBC banks in Vancouver. In fact we now exclusively use Vancouver main branch for anything we need, as they seem to be the only branch which knows what they are talking about. But this could be a Vancouver issue only.

It's a relief to hear that overall, you can keep most accounts open. I was worried I'd have to close my Lloyds one since that was the impression I got by checking the website recently, but in branch, the lady said it was fine. All I would need to do is ring and notify them of the address change.

Hey FluffyDice - hope all is well with you - I have a question if you do not mind.... I too bank with Lloyds and have recently made the move over to Canada.... their rep who I spoke to online stated that I would be unable to have a Canadian address which has left me slightly confused..... would you mind telling me how they set it up for you? Do you maintain a UK address as your primary address on their system with your Canadian address as the correspondence address?

Did you mention to them that you are no longer a UK tax resident?

If you could shed some light as to how you resolved your situation it would be a great help.

Thank you in advance and take care.

No matter what one gets told there always seems the chance that one member of staff might do the opposite to another member of staff.

You get different answers in person and different answers other ways. Different practical experiences too. It's a bit pot luck.

Lloyds Bank PLC are utter - and we all know what the last word is.

I have been with Lloyds for around 40 years; when I moved permanently abroad it was ok to start with, they accepted my overseas address, BUT asked me to switch branches. No problem for me, I wasn't intending to drop in on a regular basis.

A couple of years later they wrote saying that my 'new' branch was closing, and as I lived overseas I would have to move branch again, this time to the Isle of Man.

Again ok by me until... they introduced a fee of £6 per month for running my current account irrespective of balance.

I complained, they responded basically accept it or sod off. I tried to open an account with various other UK banks, but was told by one and all that they didn't accept non-UK residents. So I've been stuck with the toads ever since.

Luckily my need for a UK bank is almost at an end, and nothing will give me more pleasure than closing that account.

@Rainmaker - if you really have to persist with Lloyds, have a look for their WWS - World Wide Services - website, but I'm not sure if they're taking on new prisoners these days...

Thanks BristolUK

Sounds like an absolute headache! I am going to try my luck with them.... I want to add a correspondence address so that they send my cards over here to Vancouver.... that's all... y they are making the process so damn tough I have no idea :s

Thanks for the info though, much appreciated.