Brindleboy123

I just wondered what others thought. We invested a lump sum into a Spanish bank in one of their plans where you have so much invested for 3, 5 years etc. I'm happy enough with this other than the fact that what would happen if the Euro goes to the wall.....where would my investment be then! I know the bank say our money is invested up to 100,000 euros but would it really be worth anything if Spainn went back to pesetas?

From a very confused Bell!

cricketman

Who knows!

Firstly though, this isnt very likely. If it did happen, you would still have the money, put in Pesetas instead.

There probably would be quite a lot of inflation if this happened, but there would probably be global inflation as it would be a huge event and everything is related

I'd recommend having your savings in both GBP and Euro. With the balance depending on where you have the majority of your financial commitments. If your bills are in Euros then have more savings in Euros, and vice versa.

Rotor

My view for what its worth is don't have any savings in a Spanish bank...crisis or not, the tax man and many other authorities can decide to help themselves with out prior notice ...put your money in Gib/UK is my view , safest place around at the moment.

cricketman

AFAIK Euro accounts in Gib/UK cost money. And if you have a GBP account, it will cost you each time you take money out in Euros

And of course if you have income in Euros then you need a Euro account.

And if you have costs in Euros such as a mortgage you have more peace of mind having savings in Euros. Imagine if the GBP:Euro rate got worse...

Basically, the answer is, it depends on your circumstances. Ask yourself why you opened the Euro deposit in the first place. Nothing much has changed in the past few months.

jackytoo

If you have a sterling account if N&P Gibraltar you can withdraw in euro and you get the full exact rate better than any currency xchange people use. We kept all our money in Gib and withdrew monthly. Only kept a small float in Spain for bills and emergencies. Not very useful though if you aren't convenient for Gib.

Rotor

Barclay's have euros accounts , I've got one with them.

cricketman

Sure, but doing this still doesnt protect against currency fluctuations. Only having a Euro savings and current account will provide this

What is needed depends completely on individual circumstance though

Dick Dasterdly

I wouldn't be happy with one of those schemes even if the euro stayed.

I've seen far too many ppl scammed by Spanish banks offering guaranteed long term rates, only to find at the end of the term they were well out of pocket after the various offtakes that they never expected and the taxmen were done.

Better off taking a leaf out of the Spanish books and bury it in the garden.
When the euro came out the Spanish grabbed them wholesale, especially the 500 eu notes, the vast majority of which almost immediately disappeared from circulation.
Efectivo is the name of the game in Spain.

cricketman

This was mainly due to the corruption involved in construction DD

You will find most Spaniards still have current and savings accounts

And fwiw Santander and BBVA are rated as safer as any UK bank so there isnt so much to worry about. In the times we are living in, any bank can go bust, but life is about measured risk after all.

Dick Dasterdly

Of course most of them have accounts because they need them to conduct many of their regular affairs.
Wether or not they trust them or totally rely on them is a totally different kettle of fish.
The two you mention may be the pick of the bunch, but thats not saying a lot.
IMHO funds are much safer in the UK and regarding the two you mention, they are often the worst with regard to long term investment scams.

jackytoo

Are you sure about that? both have just been downgraded and under EU regs both need re-financing.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-1...ish-banks.html

VFR

I guess if you had the amount in gold/silver it would then be safe, assuming the price did not fall a lot.