Offshore Banking in Gibraltar

The facility of offshore banking in Gibraltar is extremely convenient for the many ex-pats living

on the Costa del Sol and other parts of southern Spain. It also of course offers tax free investment opportunities for people living anywhere in the world.

The identity of bank account holders in Gibraltar is confidential and is only disclosed by the bank if they are ordered to do so by the Courts when investigating serious criminal activity.Although, due to changes in the law in July 2005, there is now an exchange of information for all EU national between the Gibraltar authorities and the individuals home tax authorities. However, rather conveniently, this does not apply to U.K.citizens as they are not regarded as members of a separate E.U. state.

The main advantages of offshore banking in Gibraltar are it's favourable tax status which means that no tax is paid on interest from investments plus the lack of exchange controls, the stable government, membership of the E.U. and excellent communication networks. Banking in Gibraltar is regulated by the Financial Services Commission under the Banking Ordinance of 1992 and in addition to this much subsequent legislation has kept the "Rock" up to date with current EU regulatory standards.

Offshore banking in Gibraltar is offered by many of the U.K. high street banks and building societies with familiar names such as NatWest, Barclays, HSBC, The Royal Bank of Scotland, The Norwich and Peterborough, The Newcastle and Leeds and Holbeck building societies. If you are buying property in Spain then you can arrange a mortgage through one of these banks or building societies which you may find more convenient and approachable than a Spanish bank.

Another advantage for people relocating to this part of the world is that you can still manage as much of your assets as you wish in sterling rather than having everything converted into euros.