[GarySFBCN]

Hello,

In a previous post I inquired about transferring money. Thanks for the info – I still have not needed to transfer anything so far. But here’s another inquiry:

I am looking to open new bank account with my Spanish husband. I am a US citizen and now a legal resident of Spain.

He currently has an account with La Caixa but wants to change banks. Through his work, we can open an account at Deutsche Bank an get some barely-noticeable discounts on some of the fees.

Other than transferring money from the US, which I plan on handling through Forex or some other entity, our needs are pretty basic – paying bills, etc.

Do any of you have any recommendations for preferred banks? How about banks to avoid?

My preference is to do most of my banking on-line, if that makes a difference.

Thanks,

Gary

[Anonymous]

Gary, they are all a bunch of money-grabbing ********s. Banks in Spain are a particular bugbear of mine. We have to pay some of the highest bank charges in Europe (secondly only to Italy, I think) and costs have shot up since the crisis struck. They take the piss. More info on Spanish bank charges (in Spanish)

I am about to do a report on bank charges, to identify the best deals. In the meantime I’m opening a Cuenta Zero with La Caixa for myself. No maintenance costs if you stick to online banking and using the Servired cash machines. Suits me.

[GarySFBCN]

Thanks Mark! I was wondering if it was just me. I haven’t paid a banking fee for more than 20 years, other than specialty fees for cashier’s checks, etc, so I was a surprised that the very low interest offered on savings here is often consumed by ridiculous maintenance fees.

That Zero account looks good.

Gary

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