HSBC Offshore - Important Announcement

Of all the so-called ‘high street banks,’ HSBC is quite possibly the one offering the most to its international and offshore, expatriate client base.  The bank has a dedicated international website that showcases all of the institution’s products that may be suitable for an expat – but it offers more, so much more.

For example, whether you’re an expat moving to or from a list of some 30 nations, HSBC offers taxation advice that’s freely accessible online.  They give away country guides, offer safe haven protection for your assets, provide private banking services for high net worth expats, and they have a new look website making everything you could possibly want so much more accessible.

Our HSBC offshore important announcement relates to this new look website because it has been designed following customer feedback and extensive research.  Apparently HSBC’s international customers told them exactly what they wanted in terms of the design of the site, the depth and wealth of information supplied, and even easier access to all the group’s Internet banking services.  The result is an excellent resource that you can benefit from whether you’re an HSBC customer or not!

What we really like about the site is that there is a lot of genuinely useful information on it for expatriates now.  As stated there’s the taxation advice that is otherwise difficult to come by on the Internet for free, and proves very costly to get from a dedicated tax adviser.  It covers the country basics for expats - from tax rates to what you need to do before or once you arrive in a given country in terms of informing tax authorities etc. 

As it’s imperative for expats to understand their own tax status before they can really get the most out of going offshore, this resource from HSBC is an excellent starting point.  Note, we do not for a moment suggest that the advice is anything more than generic information and it cannot replace personalised support from an accountant – but it does give you a good basis from which to start understanding your tax obligations and how best to go offshore.

In terms of other useful resources on the site there are country guides covering some of the most popular expatriate destinations such as Dubai, Singapore and even the UK, there is a wealth of advice about moving and living abroad, advice about the European Savings Tax directive and also an exploration of the potential tax benefits available to expatriate and international savers and investors who go offshore.

We think the HSBC offshore website is a truly useful resource and we also think it’s positive that the bank is giving something back to their customers in the form of valuable and free information…