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Expat investments to be dumped as Clydesdale deserts Guernsey
| Published: | 23 Jan at 6 PM |
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As the international clout of Guernsey as an offshore tax haven fades into the distance, the Clydesdale Bank’s international arm is the latest financial organisation to desert the sinking ship.
The familiar high street bank’s offshore operations have traditionally been a haven for expat investments for their higher rates of interest. A spokesman for the bank, now owned by the National Australia Bank Group, told the Telegraph that last year’s review of its international operations had fuelled the decision to close for new savers and shut down some time in the near future.
According to its retail director, Andrew Pearce, Clydesdale’s entire banking strategy had come under review to allow the bank to concentrate on its strengths and dump its weaknesses. The bank’s thousands of expat savers have as yet received no written confirmation of its projected closure of its offshore arm, and there is little hard information on how the run-down will be managed.
As its specialities were fixed rate term savings, it’s possible that arrangements will have to made with savers holding longer term deposits. The spokesman said that most fixed-rate savers were on one or two year terms, but up until the end of 2012 its 4 per cent-plus five-year deals were still being taken up.
When asked what provision would be made for this investor sector, the spokesman replied that it was too early to tell, adding that decisions on variable interest rates for the period prior to the closure had also not yet been taken. Some rates have already been cut to as low as 0.95 per cent, as has the bonus on its 95 day notice account and rates on its instant savings offerings, now paying 0.5 per cent. It would seem that the rate-cutting decisions were taken to discourage current investors from taking too long to find an alternative home for their money.
The familiar high street bank’s offshore operations have traditionally been a haven for expat investments for their higher rates of interest. A spokesman for the bank, now owned by the National Australia Bank Group, told the Telegraph that last year’s review of its international operations had fuelled the decision to close for new savers and shut down some time in the near future.
According to its retail director, Andrew Pearce, Clydesdale’s entire banking strategy had come under review to allow the bank to concentrate on its strengths and dump its weaknesses. The bank’s thousands of expat savers have as yet received no written confirmation of its projected closure of its offshore arm, and there is little hard information on how the run-down will be managed.
As its specialities were fixed rate term savings, it’s possible that arrangements will have to made with savers holding longer term deposits. The spokesman said that most fixed-rate savers were on one or two year terms, but up until the end of 2012 its 4 per cent-plus five-year deals were still being taken up.
When asked what provision would be made for this investor sector, the spokesman replied that it was too early to tell, adding that decisions on variable interest rates for the period prior to the closure had also not yet been taken. Some rates have already been cut to as low as 0.95 per cent, as has the bonus on its 95 day notice account and rates on its instant savings offerings, now paying 0.5 per cent. It would seem that the rate-cutting decisions were taken to discourage current investors from taking too long to find an alternative home for their money.
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