Offshore Bond Accounts Bristol & West has been launching bond accounts since 1993 and the most recent launch is the High Growth Savings and Investment bond with a six-year term and links to the FTSE 100, Nikkei 225 and Eurostoxx50. The offer period lasts until 31 May, with an option to invest an equal amount in the one-year term. Minimum investment is £500. With the capital protection bond there are no withdrawals within the six year period and interest is paid out at 80 per cent of the average calculated growth of the UK, Japanese and European indices. Britannia International, based on the Isle of Man is a subsidiary of the Britannia Building society, the second largest building society in the UK. It also offers a range of bonds and savings accounts with monthly and yearly interest options. Offshore Bond Accounts & Britannia International Britannia International also offers a range of equity-linked products, including its currently open Guaranteed Capital Equity bond. This is linked to the FTSE 100 and customers can invest a minimum of £5,000 over one, two or three years and interest, subject to the movement of the FTSE, will be paid in gross. Britannia is also offering a savings account with a difference - a Manchester United Offshore Saver account which pays out an annual bonus to the club.
Perhaps not for everyone that one. Although it nicely illustrates the variation on a theme product development tendencies of many of the building society providers and savings banks. It is often the case with many offshore current or ex-building societies that links with the island communities are relatively strong. A large proportion of mortgage lending goes out to locals on the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with British expatriates constituting a smaller, but significant percentage of the client base. Offshore Bond Accounts & The Banking Websites The banking websites indicate much greater degrees of community involvement than banks in similar locations. The Skipton in Guernsey, for example, sponsors the annual flower show and many websites have links to cultural or historic information concerning their respective islands. Bradshaw suggests that customer service centres on a more personal approach. “We have a much smaller customer-base of only 12,000, although we are holding deposits worth over £750 million. Evidently our clients are fewer, but are depositing higher amounts than the average banking customer,” he says. Bradshaw emphasises the vital aspect of these personal relationships to the ethos of the business: “It is vital to us,” he says. “To ensure we do a first rate job and maintain our solid reputation. I can’t see our product lines are likely to change fundamentally. We’ll keep on plugging away with the lines we have.” Offshore Bond Accounts - At The End Of The Day At the end of the day, however, the most valid point for any customer is getting a good deal . A useful measure to check you’re receiving good value from a bank or building society is to check the difference between the level of interest rates it offers and the mortgage rates. Clearly, the narrower the margin between the two, the better the deal. It is fair to say that building societies are likely to offer a better deal here, as they tend to have much lower profit margins than banks. They certainly don’t have to satisfy shareholders and, in simple terms, are unlikely to need the kinds of advertising and mammoth development budgets banks need to keep up with the competition. Offshore Bond Accounts - Products As with most things, however, you need to know exactly what kinds of products suit your situation. For the average expatriate, building societies are useful savings tools, but for everyday banking needs involving currency transactions and alternate time zones, there are few with the breadth of services you may require for all your needs. Many of these building societies may have the best interest rates, but extremely basic websites are another limitation. Few are interactive as yet and inquiries about 24-hour help lines tend to receive a raised eyebrow. 
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