livingonbeans

Hi,

Just a quick one....I'm currently relocating to Spain and am required to open a Spanish bank account in order to purchase my property.

I've lived in Spain before and used BBVA and to be honest wasn't too keen on them. What I'm after is the following:

• Good Online Banking
• Cheap or free transfers from UK (as need to send house money)
• Cheap monthly usage
• Easy to open/manage

Thanks in advance for all your help,
Danny

wilsman77

BancSabadell in a word.

Porth

We used Deutsche Bank but have a Sabadell account as well which we use infrequently as their staffing levels are low.

wilsman77

well there is a Branch of Sabadell in London (Trafalgar Sq) how handy is that. Plus they gove you stirling and Euro acounts and online you can easily transfer between the two accounts. Beat that.....

Porth

Forgive my ignorance here but how about the transfer to Spain say to your account for day to day activities?

NadiaN

The Sabadell Cuenta Expansion allows you to send and receive national and international transfers in euros for free. So if you sent euros from the UK to your Sabadell account, you would pay no fees.

The only requirement for the account is that you need to deposit a minimum of 700 euros per month in it.
https://www.bancsabadell.com/cs/Sate...1346505022/en/

starynightsky

Also bear in mind when choosing a bank how convenient their location is to you. We have used a number of banks in the last only for them to close branches or close as they have been bought out. We now use cajamar as there are at least three branches very close to us!!

snikpoh

Why do they need to be close to you with internet banking and a network of ATM's.

I've never understood this.

wilsman77

Porth, if you send from your HSBC account they charge you £4 on-line.

cricketman

As long as your Spanish is perfect then no problem at all

Otherwise good luck with those long phone calls when the back has charged you an annual maintanance fee on all kinds of products that they previously promised for free

Rosemary

Convenience and the personal touch is what it is about for me.

Rosemary

starynightsky

My bank moved from locally to over 100km away. But of a pain when they require me to sign something or insist I pick up new cards in my branch!!!!!

athos88

In my experience, Sabadell is definitely the most convenient bank for ex pats and this extends even to minor issues. For example, some of the larger Spanish banks demand that any English documentation that you provide (proof of income, P-60s etc.) come with an expensive, sworn translation, while Sabadell is happy to accept documents in English without further ado.

Porth

I bank with a German bank and with absolute efficiency but equally understanding.