Latest Savings Commentary

Income is king

Oliver Roylance-Smith / 15 May 2012

Investing for income is always a popular investment theme, never more so than in recent months with income solutions ruling the roost over the ISA season for both the cash ISAs and investment ISAs. ... Read more

7% potential annual income, capital protected

Oliver Roylance-Smith / 10 May 2012

"The latest Fair Investment Income Deposit Plan offers capital protection plus the potential to earn 7% for each year the FTSE 100 remains between 4,500 and 7,000 points (yesterday’s clos... Read more

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Oliver Roylance-Smith / 01 May 2012

The economic landscape continues to create a real dilemma for savings and put a spotlight on the fixed rate bond. With yields on these lowering amid continued pressures on getting the most out of yo... Read more

Abbey Offshore Savings Accounts

Abbey is owned by the Spanish lender, Santander. Santander manages their offshore savings accounts through Abbey International, which is based in the Channel Islands, Jersey. In opening an Abbey offshore savings account, you may be able to take advantage of the untaxed interest payments. After a period of time, you may have to pay income tax to HMRC, but the delay may grant you enough time to earn a little more interest.

If you are one of the following people, you may wish to consider opening an offshore savings account with Abbey International (Santander):

You live or work abroad
You spend a lot of time abroad
You are a foreign national living in the UK
You are a UK resident who has an interest in offshore banking

In order to ensure that Abbey is the right financial provider for you, you should consider the offers currently available on the market thoroughly before committing to any given provider or account. Take a look at our comparison tables to compare the best offshore savings account deals:

Offshore Savings Accounts

Provider	Account	Gross Rate AER	Term	Currency	More Info
	Lloyds TSB International Fixed Term Deposit	4.50%	5 Years	Sterling (£)	More Info >
Minimum deposit - £10,000 Sterling Deposits Only Interest Paid Annually Bond designed to be held for full term Charge for early withdrawal
	Lloyds TSB International Fixed Term Deposit	4.00%	3 Year	Sterling (£)	More Info >
Minimum deposit - £10,000 Sterling Deposits Only Interest Paid Annually Bond designed to be held for full term Charge for early withdrawal
	Lloyds TSB International Fixed Term Deposit	3.55%	2 Year	Sterling (£)	More Info >
Minimum deposit - £10,000 Sterling Deposits Only Interest Paid Annually Bond designed to be held for full term Charge for early withdrawal
	Lloyds TSB International Fixed Term Deposit	3.40%	1 Year	Sterling (£)	More Info >
Minimum deposit - £10,000 Sterling Deposits Only 2,3 and 5 Year Term Bonds Available Bond designed to be held for full term Charge for early withdrawal
	Lloyds TSB International Incentive Saver	2.40%	Instant Access	Sterling (£)	More Info >
Minimum deposit - £10,000 Worldwide Instant Access 24/7 Interest Paid Monthly No interest paid in months withdrawals made
	Lloyds TSB International Bonus Saver - Euro	Up to 2.25%	Instant Access	Euro (€)	More Info >
Minimum deposit - €5,000 Worldwide Instant Access 24/7 Interest Paid Monthly Includes 0.75% Bonus for first 12 months After 12 months the interest rate will automatically reduce
	Lloyds TSB International Bonus Saver - Sterling	Up to 2.00%	Instant Access	Sterling (£)	More Info >
Minimum deposit - £5,000 Worldwide Instant Access 24/7 Interest Paid Monthly Includes 0.5% Bonus for first 12 months After 12 months the interest rate will automatically reduce
	Lloyds TSB International Bonus Saver - Dollar	Up to 1.50%	Instant Access	Dollar ($)	More Info >
Minimum deposit - $5,000 Worldwide Instant Access 24/7 Interest Paid Monthly Includes 0.75% Bonus for first 12 months After 12 months the interest rate will automatically reduce

* GROSS RATE – The contractual rate of interest payable before deduction of income tax at the rate specified by law.

** AER RATE – AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and is the notional rate which illustrates the gross rate as if it was paid and compounded once each year. As every advertisement for a savings product will contain an AER you can compare more easily what return you can expect from your savings over time.

There are numerous potential advantages and disadvantages in opening an offshore savings account with Abbey (now Santander Private banking) and some of these are detailed below.

Advantages of offshore saving accounts:

You may be able to earn more interest because interest is paid on ‘gross’ balances, as opposed to UK savings accounts where the interest you receive has been reduced by income tax.
There is a period of delay in which your savings can accumulate more interest before you have to pay income tax
You may gain the opportunity to save and earn interest in foreign currencies
There may be interest deferral options available in certain types of accounts.

Disadvantages of offshore savings accounts:

There may be expensive maintenance fees and the Provider may charge for withdrawals
A large deposit may be required to set up the offshore savings account
The UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme may not protect your finances in offshore savings accounts
You should be aware that you may be taxed twice, depending on the location of your offshore account.

Whether you decide to go with Abbey (Santander Private Banking) for an offshore savings account or not, you are advised to look at the comparison tables on this page first and judge this deal against some of the others available at the moment.