UK Private Banks Report Increase In Demand For Euro Accounts

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

05 February 2002

UK private banks have reported a significant increase in demand for euro denominated accounts, which has led to speculation as to whether high street banks have missed an opportunity by not pushing the service to their wealthier customers.

Cater Allen, the private banking arm of Abbey National, revealed that following the introduction of the euro in other European countries, inquiries from potential euro account customers have shot up from around 100 per month last year to over 2,000 in December and January alone.

'The high street banks may have misjudged this,' Mark Christopher, a Senior Manager at Cater Allen, told the Independent. ' They have taken the view that there is no reason for UK residents to open a euro account until the UK joins the euro. But a lot of people have a house in the euro zone or regularly pop over to it. That's the market we are going for and there is not much competition at present, I am happy to say.'

Citibank, which is the UK's other leading onshore provider of euro denominated accounts has also reported a massive increase in demand, although it has not disclosed exact figures.

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