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Here’s sign of the times. It may be just a normal contingency plan by the Foreign Office, however it forced me to think what I personally would do if the banking system collapsed in Europe. A reserve stash of cash seems to be one solution. 🙁
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is drawing up plans to evacuate thousands of British expatriates from Spain and Portugal in the event that their banking systems collapse. It comes as credit rating agencies warn that the deal struck by EU leaders this month may not save the single currency from further turbulence and possible collapse. Officials from the Foreign Office and the Treasury are preparing contingency plans to help thousands of Britons get home if banks in Spain and Portugal — two of the most vulnerable eurozone economies — fail and people are unable to get at their money.
http://www.topix.com/forum/world/cyprus/TU7HK2C60VEGJDRA6
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/ -
Don’t most British pensioners in Spain and Portugal get their money from the UK?
Perhaps this contingency plan is in case the British banking system fails?
If the Euro collapses (or more realistically Portugal or Spain have to leave the Euro and devalue), most expats will be suddenly a lot richer. They may find that having access to their money may be delayed a week or two, but surely most have coped with that already?
If the value of their money is suddenly increased, they may even hire poor Brits to fly out and courier them money directly! -
If the Euro collapses so will the banks. Or more likely the banks collapse first. Europe’s banks are wobbling due to the sovereign debt issue in Greece, Portugal and Ireland. In Spain it’s due to real estate losses and their investments in the sovereign debt of Peripheral nations.
If the banks close their doors which they would have to do in the case of insolvency, how would anyone, UK pensioners included, who does not have a cash stash manage? If the banking sector falls everything else follows very quickly, it’s a domino effect.
I realise this is a worst case scenario but not entirely impossible in today’s Europe.
You are either a person who deals with problems only when they happen or someone who tries to anticipate trouble with a back up plan.
My business life has taught me to be the latter. -
This is ‘old’ news – I posted a similar article a few weeks back. It seems politically motivated.
Evacuating people from Spain? Really? It makes me think that somebody in London is trying to divert attention away from London.
This type of ‘diplomacy’ is so insulting.
If those anti-euroistas in the UK continue this nonsense, I propose that Spain ‘help’ the UK citizens evacuate right now.
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@GarySFBCN wrote:
Evacuating people from Spain? Really? It makes me think that somebody in London is trying to divert attention away from London.
I’m involved in contingency planning, this sort of plan is a legal requirement for governments and business. If they didn’t do it they would be sacked.
Alternatively, like most people, they could stick their head in the sand.
If the banks close their doors which they would have to do in the case of insolvency, how would anyone, UK pensioners included, who does not have a cash stash manage?
Correct. Keeping a few weeks spending money is essential.
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You wonder why the press are pushing this though?
The more you think about it, the more ridiculous it seems. Oh look says the expat living in Malaga, the value of my sterling savings account has doubled overnight! But the banking system may mean I can’t access it for a few days. I know, I’ll go and camp overnight at the local airport with 40,000 other expats and hope the UK will send us free transport. Then I can be homeless in the UK!
I saw someone on another forum saying it will be like Saigon! Wtf? Apart from the fact we’re not in a war (although Sarky and Dave may wish to start one), it’s not beyond most people’s ability to drive to northern France and catch a ferry or Eurostar. Why this need to “evacuate”? -
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@DBMarcos99 wrote:
Correct. Keeping a few weeks spending money is essential.
Didn’t Darling state in his latest book that the UK cashpoints were just hours away from closing down? So yes, worth having a few readies stashed away. Wasn’t there a run on a Swedish bank a week or so back?
what you fail to say is it isn’t till the close of play the bank has to have enough cash if it hasn’t it doesn’t reopen then how long does it take to get your cash out.rbs were 2 hours away from this happening before being saved do the spanish have the cash to bail out their banks if it happens to more than 1
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@DBMarcos99 wrote:
Don’t most British pensioners in Spain and Portugal get their money from the UK?
Perhaps this contingency plan is in case the British banking system fails?
If the Euro collapses (or more realistically Portugal or Spain have to leave the Euro and devalue), most expats will be suddenly a lot richer. They may find that having access to their money may be delayed a week or two, but surely most have coped with that already?
If the value of their money is suddenly increased, they may even hire poor Brits to fly out and courier them money directly!Your really are naive aren’t you 😆
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@dartboy wrote:
@DBMarcos99 wrote:
Correct. Keeping a few weeks spending money is essential.
Didn’t Darling state in his latest book that the UK cashpoints were just hours away from closing down? So yes, worth having a few readies stashed away. Wasn’t there a run on a Swedish bank a week or so back?
what you fail to say is it isn’t till the close of play the bank has to have enough cash if it hasn’t it doesn’t reopen then how long does it take to get your cash out.rbs were 2 hours away from this happening before being saved do the spanish have the cash to bail out their banks if it happens to more than 1
it could take a month or more for new currency to be printed. You need to have acccess to cash to cover that period. If it takes longer, and it could, then GBP and USD would be a essential fall back.
Remember, paper money is fundamentally worthless (Euro – even more so as there is no guarantor behind it). Loses faith and its almost impossible to get back.
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I’m involved in contingency planning, this sort of plan is a legal requirement for governments and business. If they didn’t do it they would be sacked.
I am directly responsible for several ‘disaster plans’ as part of my job. We drill them 4 times a year.
One does not make these types of plans and then ‘leak’ them to the press twice in 3 weeks.
This is monkey-business. I’m not sure what the underlying motive is, but it has nothing to do with safety and safe evacuation.
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One problem in keeping a ‘cash stash’ it seems to me is the real danger the Euro may be worthless in the event of melt down. So perhaps the stash should be in $US or Swissie.
The only interest in this subject for me is the intellectual possibility and it’s aftermath consequences. Whenever the possibility exists a contrary plan is necessary.
One poster said the Brits could ‘drive to Calais’. Well that begs the question how would they pay for fuel with a collapsed Euro and credit cards that don’t work?
Airports would close because of the same problem. A whole manner of the norms we are all so used to and take for granted will simply disappear overnight if the financial system goes down.
It’s a bit like the technology which runs the world. Without power it’s stuffed.
The worrying thing is it can be a relatively small matter which has the ability to start the collapse of confidence. Lehman’s demise almost began it in the US. Confidence in the system is everything and right now it’s very low.
The late Christopher Hitchens predicted recently that ‘capital and asset wealth are soon to disappear like so much fairy dust.’
Now where’s my old bike? 🙂 -
@logan wrote:
One problem in keeping a ‘cash stash’ it seems to me is the real danger the Euro may be worthless in the event of melt down. So perhaps the stash should be in $US or Swissie.
The only interest in this subject for me is the intellectual possibility and it’s aftermath consequences. Whenever the possibility exists a contrary plan is necessary.
One poster said the Brits could ‘drive to Calais’. Well that begs the question how would they pay for fuel with a collapsed Euro and credit cards that don’t work?
Airports would close because of the same problem. A whole manner of the norms we are all so used to and take for granted will simply disappear overnight if the financial system goes down.
It’s a bit like the technology which runs the world. Without power it’s stuffed.
The worrying thing is it can be a relatively small matter which has the ability to start the collapse of confidence. Lehman’s demise almost began it in the US. Confidence in the system is everything and right now it’s very low.
The late Christopher Hitchens predicted recently that ‘capital and asset wealth are soon to disappear like so much fairy dust.’
Now where’s my old bike? 🙂We are of course talking about two separate scenarios here.
The first (the most likely imo) is that Spain (or Greece or Portugal etc) decides to leave the Euro. Now there will be a point when bank cashpoint machines no longer function, and you can’t draw money out of banks for a time. But remember that Euros are still standard currency until the replacement currency is printed, just in short supply in Spain. They are still standard currency in the likes of all the other Euro countries eg Germany, Holland, France etc. As long as you’ve kept a stash at home, there probably won’t be any problem – well, I imagine you’d be wise not to flash cash around under those circumstances.
The second which some are stating here – the total meltdown of the Euro – seems very unlikely to me. After all, if it were really on the cards, the pound would be worth 2 or 3 Euros by now at least? However it is a scary scenario, because at that point you’d have British expats all over Europe – Greece, Spain, Germany, Denmark even Ireland etc. The danger for those expats is they would be viewed as being some of the privileged people with hard currency (pounds or dollars or even gold). Whether or not they possessed any of this is irrelevant, the local population would target the expats, and remember the local police would no longer be paid! I doubt even the US has the resources to “evacuate” all Brit expats from all over Europe – the depleted Brit navy certainly doesn’t. -
The FCO always have contingency plans for most situations. They now have rapid response teams. I think the main thrust of the plans will bear in mind the possibility of large scale civil unrest. If ex-pats can’t sort themselves out financially for a couple of weeks then they shouldn’t be there anyway!
They didn’t say they didn’t have plans, only that they didn’t have euro based ones. As I said above, they will be for extreme civil unrest. You aren’t used to FCO speak are you
Here is what they said, similar to what I did.
“All British Embassies regularly update contingency planning for all sorts of scenarios, including natural disasters and internal political unrest.
Anyway, good news. There are enough parasites entering the UK without bringing back those who left of there own free will 😆
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@DBMarcos99 wrote:
The second which some are stating here – the total meltdown of the Euro – seems very unlikely to me. After all, if it were really on the cards, the pound would be worth 2 or 3 Euros by now at least?
The Euro has Germany in it. The bet is that Germany will bail out the Euro when it comes to it, hence the Euro’s continued high valuation. I used to believe this but its impossible for German politician to save the Euro, their people won’t accept it and the cost to save the Euro is far more than the cost of letting die (to the Germans).
So when the crash comes the devaluation will be different in the various countries. Maybe 50% is Spain and 80-90% in Greece and a few % in Germany.
Keeping cash in GBP is an obvious safe haven in Spain, given the number of British and Irish (who will likely get a peg to the Pound with their “Punt Nua”).
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@DBMarcos99 wrote:
@logan wrote:
One problem in keeping a ‘cash stash’ it seems to me is the real danger the Euro may be worthless in the event of melt down. So perhaps the stash should be in $US or Swissie.
The only interest in this subject for me is the intellectual possibility and it’s aftermath consequences. Whenever the possibility exists a contrary plan is necessary.
One poster said the Brits could ‘drive to Calais’. Well that begs the question how would they pay for fuel with a collapsed Euro and credit cards that don’t work?
Airports would close because of the same problem. A whole manner of the norms we are all so used to and take for granted will simply disappear overnight if the financial system goes down.
It’s a bit like the technology which runs the world. Without power it’s stuffed.
The worrying thing is it can be a relatively small matter which has the ability to start the collapse of confidence. Lehman’s demise almost began it in the US. Confidence in the system is everything and right now it’s very low.
The late Christopher Hitchens predicted recently that ‘capital and asset wealth are soon to disappear like so much fairy dust.’
Now where’s my old bike? 🙂We are of course talking about two separate scenarios here.
The first (the most likely imo) is that Spain (or Greece or Portugal etc) decides to leave the Euro. Now there will be a point when bank cashpoint machines no longer function, and you can’t draw money out of banks for a time. But remember that Euros are still standard currency until the replacement currency is printed, just in short supply in Spain. They are still standard currency in the likes of all the other Euro countries eg Germany, Holland, France etc. As long as you’ve kept a stash at home, there probably won’t be any problem – well, I imagine you’d be wise not to flash cash around under those circumstances.
The second which some are stating here – the total meltdown of the Euro – seems very unlikely to me. After all, if it were really on the cards, the pound would be worth 2 or 3 Euros by now at least? However it is a scary scenario, because at that point you’d have British expats all over Europe – Greece, Spain, Germany, Denmark even Ireland etc. The danger for those expats is they would be viewed as being some of the privileged people with hard currency (pounds or dollars or even gold). Whether or not they possessed any of this is irrelevant, the local population would target the expats, and remember the local police would no longer be paid! I doubt even the US has the resources to “evacuate” all Brit expats from all over Europe – the depleted Brit navy certainly doesn’t.You can identify which country has printed a euro note by the first letter of its serial number (euro’s printed in Spain have serial numbers starting with the letter ‘V’)
So if Spain left the euro they could simply say the euro notes with serial numbers beginning with the letter “V” are now the new Spanish currency.
They would need to make sure that cash point machines only contain “Spanish euros” but they should be able to make sure this is the case in the run up to Spain leaving the euro.
If using the serial number is deemed inadequate they could simply place an extra stamp on “Spanish euros” to identify them more easily.
Either way they should be able to have an interim solution until any new notes are brought into circulation. -
A great article pointing out the craziness of this news “report” – well I think he’s been unfair in targeting just the DM, other papers like the Times have also decided to run with this 3-week old story.
1) The story is a blatant copy of the article that was printed in the Daily Telegraph three weeks ago. Have you got nothing new to say or was it just a slow news day where you had no scare stories to run Daily Mail?
2) If Iberian banks crash then it will be about a week before UK banks do the same as they are all interconnected. Does the name Santander mean anything to you? The same Santander that bought up half of the banks in South America and the UK because they had a stash of cash sitting around doing nothing and the banks in poor countries in South America and the UK were either going to the wall or getting bought out.
3) If there was a run on the banks then there might be a closing of accounts for a time. Ok agreed. However that would last a week or two maximum just like it did in Argentina in 2001. Then slowly people would be able to get at their money bit by bit just like in Argentina.
Meanwhile the countries would fall out of the Euro and therefore they would devalue their currency just like the UK did in 2008. Oh but the Daily Mail didn’t tell you that did they? The Uk effectively devalued the currency in October 2008 by 30% to save the economy as all of the eggs were in one basket, financial services, and when that basket case crashed then there was no plan B.
4) Banks are not going to be repossessing houses as suggested in the article after a few days. The legal process of repossession in Spain at the moment takes about a year and three months on average after not paying for three months, so people with mortgages are not going to be thrown out of their houses. Equally if they earn in pounds still. ie pensioners, ex servicemen etc… then their mortgage becomes a lot more manageable with lower payments.
5) Why would anyone want to flee back to the UK? Things aren’t too bright there as far as I can see as George and David lead the country into a huge double dip recession with 700000 people due to lose their jobs in the civil service in the next year with none of them being replaced in the private sector.
6) And here is the biggie. Read the comments at the bottom of the article. If that is the standard of scum who read the Daily Mail then they get the newspaper they deserve. What a bunch of ignorant pr*cks.! And seriously it would take wild horses to ever drag me back to a country with such self righteous, jealous, NIMBY, small minded, little Englander bigots in it.
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Typical ex-pat tripe 😆 Do you spend all your time on google finding any nutters blog to run down anything negative about Spain. Next you will be posting a link to whay your Aunt Margery said on Twitter
The plans to reptriate ex-pats was first mentioned in the Guardian months ago and was also discussed on the Andrew Marr show yesterday. Hardly a DM plot to rubbish ex-pats is it 🙄
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@katy wrote:
Typical ex-pat tripe 😆 Do you spend all your time on google finding any nutters blog to run down anything negative about Spain. Next you will be posting a link to whay your Aunt Margery said on Twitter
The plans to reptriate ex-pats was first mentioned in the Guardian months ago and was also discussed on the Andrew Marr show yesterday. Hardly a DM plot to rubbish ex-pats is it 🙄
You know, if you lack the intelligence to discuss serious subjects, and have to revert all the time to insults, I suspect this forum is not for you. 😆 Exit that way ========>
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Surprised to see that you all have not yet been evacuated. What’s wrong with your government acting so slowly?
As with the Haiti earthquake disaster, I will be creating a special blog for donations to the ‘Evacuation Europe’ effort to help fund the costs of the transit and relocation. In the blog, I plan on discussing the absolute horror of being stranded in a comfortable home close to a sunny beach. 😀
Seriously, when I read of the eminent economic collapse predicted for 1988 (never happened), I purchased 3 1oz gold coins, one for safe passage to a safe country, one for settling in that new country and another for bribes. I now have about 5oz. I never needed them and they have increased in value. The downside is I am at risk for robbery.
I guess that I am a bit reactive to this nonsense. I expect my own US government to incite hysteria for purely political motives. I have not seen this from tactic from the UK, but that probably proves that I am ignorant.
I challenge you all to not view this evacuation nonsense at ‘face value’.
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I can’t see any ex-pats needing help to survive whilst the banks are closed for a couple of weeks. If so they must be in dire straits! I think the main contingency will be if there are riots when citizens aren’t being paid, can’t withdraw their own money etc. Have already seen someone on another forum say they are not allowed to withdraw their savings from CAM bank until March 2012 😯 If anyone has a substantial amount in any Spanish banks they should get them out pronto!
I wonder why only Spain & Portugal…what about the poor ex-pats in Greece 😕
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@DBMarcos99 wrote:
@katy wrote:
Typical ex-pat tripe 😆 Do you spend all your time on google finding any nutters blog to run down anything negative about Spain. Next you will be posting a link to whay your Aunt Margery said on Twitter
The plans to reptriate ex-pats was first mentioned in the Guardian months ago and was also discussed on the Andrew Marr show yesterday. Hardly a DM plot to rubbish ex-pats is it 🙄
You know, if you lack the intelligence to discuss serious subjects, and have to revert all the time to insults, I suspect this forum is not for you. 😆 Exit that way ========>
Well you are not discussing it as a serious subject are you…you just came on to rubbish the news 🙄
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@GarySFBCN wrote:
Surprised to see that you all have not yet been evacuated. What’s wrong with your government acting so slowly?
As with the Haiti earthquake disaster, I will be creating a special blog for donations to the ‘Evacuation Europe’ effort to help fund the costs of the transit and relocation. In the blog, I plan on discussing the absolute horror of being stranded in a comfortable home close to a sunny beach. 😀
Seriously, when I read of the eminent economic collapse predicted for 1988 (never happened), I purchased 3 1oz gold coins, one for safe passage to a safe country, one for settling in that new country and another for bribes. I now have about 5oz. I never needed them and they have increased in value. The downside is I am at risk for robbery.
I guess that I am a bit reactive to this nonsense. I expect my own US government to incite hysteria for purely political motives. I have not seen this from tactic from the UK, but that probably proves that I am ignorant.
I challenge you all to not view this evacuation nonsense at ‘face value’.
Well put!
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@Inez wrote:
My other half withdrew his euros from the bank 2 weeks ago just in case,)
He is very sensible man Inez. There are many international banks in Spain and Portugal where you can invest your money in $US and Sterling. I moved into $US some time ago when this crisis began and the Euro was at €1.50 to the Dollar.
Many none Euroland banks have pulled out of Euro investments, sovereign wealth funds have done the same. Euro investments are toxic at the moment. -
It seems that the British Embassy has had to deny the reports!
http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_33083.shtml
“There is no Spain (or Portugal) contingency plan for a euro-based evacuation, nor do we have any intention of preparing one. It is fanciful to imagine that a major evacuation of British nationals would either be necessary or feasible.”
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@katy wrote:
The FCO always have contingency plans for most situations. They now have rapid response teams. I think the main thrust of the plans will bear in mind the possibility of large scale civil unrest. If ex-pats can’t sort themselves out financially for a couple of weeks then they shouldn’t be there anyway!
They didn’t say they didn’t have plans, only that they didn’t have euro based ones. As I said above, they will be for extreme civil unrest. You aren’t used to FCO speak are you
Here is what they said, similar to what I did.
“All British Embassies regularly update contingency planning for all sorts of scenarios, including natural disasters and internal political unrest.
Anyway, good news. There are enough parasites entering the UK without bringing back those who left of there own free will 😆
Mucked this up it’s gone on edit above instead of a quote 😳
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@logan wrote:
@Inez wrote:
My other half withdrew his euros from the bank 2 weeks ago just in case,)
He is very sensible man Inez. There are many international banks in Spain and Portugal where you can invest your money in $US and Sterling. I moved into $US some time ago when this crisis began and the Euro was at €1.50 to the Dollar.
Many none Euroland banks have pulled out of Euro investments, sovereign wealth funds have done the same. Euro investments are toxic at the moment.Dont let him see this post, I will never hear the end of it lol. Yes he was watching the markets and news before the meeting happened and saw the potential hassle. Other than that I get my money in sterling and dollars so no issue for me 🙂
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Corporate companies around the world are moving their Eurozone investments into triple A rated banks. The number of those is declining. Companies need their future cash requirement in safe havens and in other currencies other than Euros. Sterling is a current beneficiary.
They mainly see a second credit crunch coming, perhaps more severe than the last one and as a precaution against the possibility the Euro will fall.
It’s simple risk management, where there is a possibility of something going down however small you need to take the appropriate counter measures. -
@logan wrote:
@Inez wrote:
My other half withdrew his euros from the bank 2 weeks ago just in case,)
He is very sensible man Inez. There are many international banks in Spain and Portugal where you can invest your money in $US and Sterling. I moved into $US some time ago when this crisis began and the Euro was at €1.50 to the Dollar.
Many none Euroland banks have pulled out of Euro investments, sovereign wealth funds have done the same. Euro investments are toxic at the moment.When a countries banks shut all accounts are closed regardless of currency or nationality of the bank. In both Iceland and Argentina foreign currency accounts were close (and forcible converted to the peso in Argentina).
If you want security keep cash and bank off-shore.
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@logan wrote:
@Inez wrote:
My other half withdrew his euros from the bank 2 weeks ago just in case,)
He is very sensible man Inez. There are many international banks in Spain and Portugal where you can invest your money in $US and Sterling. I moved into $US some time ago when this crisis began and the Euro was at €1.50 to the Dollar.
Many none Euroland banks have pulled out of Euro investments, sovereign wealth funds have done the same. Euro investments are toxic at the moment.I moved my last euro savings into a pounds account with Citibank a few weeks ago. Not that I think the pound will necessarily increase in value much in the near future, but at least it should still exist. I was considering other currencies but not being a trader I have no idea what is already priced in to currency values. At least with pounds I can transfer them to my UK share dealing account without too much hassle and get out of fiat altogether if necessary.
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@peterhun wrote:
If you want security keep cash and bank off-shore.
Yes I should have made that clear, offshore international, triple A rated bank in US dollars or Sterling.
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I moved my last euro savings into a pounds account with Citibank a few weeks ago.
Keep in mind that Citibank almost collapsed a few years ago. Which is to say that one’s responsibility doesn’t end with opening an account. From time to time, one needs to review the bank’s “health”.
Since this thread has turned into ‘disaster planning’ here are my recommendations:
1. Don’t keep all of your money in one bank. Geographic diversity is best in selecting multiple banks.
2. Keep a stash of cash in at least 2 currencies at home. This money should be in small denominations because in a real disaster, people may not be able to make change.
3. Make sure that you have an extra month’s supply of any medication you need.
4. Make sure that you have a reasonable supply of the basics: Food, water, wine, etc. Have at least 3 days worth or more.
5. Don’t forget about your pets – they need to eat too.
6. Should the power supply be interrupted or you need to evacuate, you will want to communicate with your friends and family. Keep an extra, charged battery pack for your mobile phones. -
@GarySFBCN wrote:
Since this thread has turned into ‘disaster planning’ here are my recommendations:
Nice list but could you use Continuity Planning, its a more modern and more accurate terminology.
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The problem with a ‘cash stash’ is the risk of burglary in certain places and the villains taking it. My solution a sealed tupperware box, with cash wrapped in a vacuum sealed plastic bag and buried in a hole in the garden. 😆 Just don’t let any neighbours, if you have them spot you doing it.
Oh and try to remember where it is. 🙁 -
Gary you’re a survivalist 😀 Never would have guessed. Cabin in the woods full of weapons too?
When the Spanish civil war broke out my wife’s great grandfather was stuck on Formentera with all his family. The British Government sent a warship to evacuate them. In fact, two warships were sent because first time they refused to evacuate a couple of the lads in the group who didn’t have British passports. When they got to Marseille the old man convinced the British authorities that they had left behind some helpless little boys. Another ship was sent, came back with a couple of beared young men 😀
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Gary you’re a survivalist 😀 Never would have guessed. Cabin in the woods full of weapons too?
No, weapons, no cabin in the woods, just a native Californian. Living on a major earthquake fault and experiencing 2 major earthquakes has taught me a lot. I added the financial contingency (or continuity) plans to the ‘earthquake plan’ when I realized that I would be living in two different countries. Here we are also trained about what to have necessary for disaster evacuations, but I didn’t include that info here.
The problem with a ‘cash stash’ is the risk of burglary in certain places and the villains taking it. My solution a sealed tupperware box, with cash wrapped in a vacuum sealed plastic bag and buried in a hole in the garden. 😆 Just don’t let any neighbours, if you have them spot you doing it.
Or you can buy these:
http://www.spyville.com/brief-safe-underwear.html#.TtxI7n95M4I.facebook -
@logan wrote:
The problem with a ‘cash stash’ is the risk of burglary in certain places and the villains taking it. My solution a sealed tupperware box, with cash wrapped in a vacuum sealed plastic bag and buried in a hole in the garden. 😆 Just don’t let any neighbours, if you have them spot you doing it.
Oh and try to remember where it is. 🙁I remember my dad doing just that back in the 70s in case the house burned down! Theirs was cash from the business so more to keep from the taxman. He then bought kruggerands!
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@GarySFBCN wrote:
I moved my last euro savings into a pounds account with Citibank a few weeks ago.
Keep in mind that Citibank almost collapsed a few years ago. Which is to say that one’s responsibility doesn’t end with opening an account. From time to time, one needs to review the bank’s “health”.
Since this thread has turned into ‘disaster planning’ here are my recommendations:
1. Don’t keep all of your money in one bank. Geographic diversity is best in selecting multiple banks.
2. Keep a stash of cash in at least 2 currencies at home. This money should be in small denominations because in a real disaster, people may not be able to make change.
3. Make sure that you have an extra month’s supply of any medication you need.
4. Make sure that you have a reasonable supply of the basics: Food, water, wine, etc. Have at least 3 days worth or more.
5. Don’t forget about your pets – they need to eat too.
6. Should the power supply be interrupted or you need to evacuate, you will want to communicate with your friends and family. Keep an extra, charged battery pack for your mobile phones.Good advice. I’m with Citibank partly because they are pretty quick for getting your money out of Spain. Although I should add that I really don’t think they’ll let the banking system collapse here, and I think Spain will continue to share a currency with Germany for the forseeable future (regardless of how much damage it causes Spain) but since we’re in financially volatile times I value liquidity over any potential returns right now.
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If you want well regulated and managed banks,in a country with a sound economy that is not overspending,then investigate Canadian banks. Failing that, buy gold or diamonds.
To be honest it seems that ‘evacuating planning’ is a make work project by public employees looking for an ‘exploratory trip’ to sunny Spain this winter.
Mexberry. -
The UK Treasury has contingency plans to restrict capital flows in and out of Sterling in the event of a Euro collapse.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8976204/Treasury-plans-for-euro-failure.html
Sterling is being seen as a safe haven at the moment but with capital flow restrictions in the worst case scenario that may be counter productive. One thing is certain, in the unlikely event the Euro does fail a major global financial depression will result. 🙁
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