Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Information and Services in Turkey Section => Banks, Interest, Money Transfers, Insurance => Topic started by: sue mac on September 08, 2015, 11:18:11 AM
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After six months of deliberation, warnings, thoughts, encouragement,.....we have decided to invest between 10 and 20k into a high paying interest account. We already have a small savings account with Garanti, (nothing in it) but are now considering a bank account to pay our bills in Turkey, and also something to give us a decent interest that will fund some of our summer holiday spends. At present in the UK, we earn around £38.00 on £60000.00 (Santander 3% gross current account) I know there will be lots of people who will scream at us not to invest in Turkey...lira rate may go higher, not safe etc etc....but this is a small portion of a large amount of cash we currently have in a bank account; and we feel happy to take a chance with this amount. My enquiry is simply regards howI go about opening the account....i.e. what will we need? do I need cash to start it up or can I arrange a bank t/f from the UK when it is open? How do I get my money out when I arrive next Summer? is it easy to t/f money from UK or to change it back to sterling (if lira rates reduce)....and do Garanti do internet banking? And finally, is Garanti a recommended one or does anybody else know of any better interest paying accounts, or easy accounts to operate? Thanks in advance for all information.
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The interest rates vary very little between banks, we use Garanti as one of our banks and find there internet banking easier to use than most. You do not need money to open the account, you can open a tl daily account and a GBP account then send money direct from the UK via Swift transfer to your GBP account. Then change it to TL and open a E account online for any period ie 32 days about 9.5% interest. You can do all future banking from the UK by registering your UK mobile for the pin code, changing money either way, opening new accounts, paying bills, sending money to and from the UK etc.
Alper at the branch in Fethiye speaks excellent English and will set everything up for you.
If you set 2 direct debits up from the daily account you will not get any bank charges.
Mark
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I know there will be lots of people who will scream at us not to invest in Turkey...lira rate may go higher, not safe etc etc....
Nobody's screaming (yet anyway) but you couldn't have picked a worse time to buy lira. It's a relatively safe currency, however the political instability and current security situation are making it extremely volatile - if the current slide can't be halted medium term then it wouldn't be the first time an overnight devaluation is thrust on it.
If it were me, I'd hang back for a couple of months and see what pans out in November. If an election does take place, and if it ends up another hung parliament with no realistic hopes of a coalition, the value of the lira against hard currencies will fall even further.
The knock on effect will be an increase in inflation - which will devalue the larger amount of interest you are receiving on a lira investment.
On the other hand, the lira could be back to 2.5 to the pound by Christmas... who knows!
The actual set up of the accounts as Mark says are easy. Once you've got the online banking you can move money about till your hearts content.
JF
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After six months of deliberation, warnings, thoughts, encouragement,.....
Just a small thought...
If you'd invested in lira six months ago, your original investment (minus any interest accrued) would now be worth 20% less (against the £) than when you started.
If the lira hits 5 to the pound, you'd have lost 29% of the value.
Factor in inflation (August is expected to be 8.2%.), and that's your interest pretty much gone - it sounds like you dodged a bullet by dithering for six months!
JF
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I can't understand why you are only getting £38 interest on a £60k in Santander. A assume you have three £20k accounts and that should deliver £1800 gross, £1440 after 20% tax. Then you can add on your cashbacks on direct debits. I get better than £38 per month on one Santander account. You ought to be getting 36 times that annually.
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I know there will be lots of people who will scream at us not to invest in Turkey...lira rate may go higher, not safe etc etc....
Nobody's screaming (yet anyway) but you couldn't have picked a worse time to buy lira.
I'm with John on this, you couldn't pick a worse time. Hold onto your sterling until the election is well over and you have had a better chance to see what is happening, both politically and economically (yes there is a link between the two!). Besides you might well find that you are getting a far better rate by then. You'll find that most Brits have been exiting the lira, other than for general daily use ofr shopping and bills etc.,
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I think sue mac was clear that she had heard all these warnings before and just wanted to go ahead and do it anyway. Perhaps waiting until November's turmoil is over is a compromise worth considering. It might save some of the money from being lost. Or gained in the event that everything comes up roses for Turkey.
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We have recently looked Finans offering 12.5% as a welcome for 49 days then drop to potentially to 11% which has been pretty static for a while or fix for a year and with the reduced tax liability is 11.15%.
TEB offer 12% for a 3 month account but likely to be <10% after.
Garanti is 11%
Your not alone we are investing too, we figure there's a lot of interest lost waiting for November when it could also be worse. I guess the uncertainty also greatly depends on whether you will convert back to GBP we hope not to.
Good luck
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Your not alone we are investing too, we figure there's a lot of interest lost waiting for November when it could also be worse.
It's fortunate the OP didn't take that viewpoint back in March...
The gap between interest rates and inflation is narrowing, again. After tax, and taking into account the actual buying power of what you're left with, those "high" interest rates aren't really that high after all.
I guess the uncertainty also greatly depends on whether you will convert back to GBP we hope not to.
If I had a lira for every time I've heard that remark...
JF
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Ok. A compromise then ...I Can only get there in October to sort things. Could I open with just a couple of thousand then further online after November? That way risk is only on 2k?
Thanks for help
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That's what I would do Sue, this country isn't getting another lira from me til this lots sorted out!
Keeping everything crossed it's all going to blow over, but not looking good.
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Ok. A compromise then ...
No need for compromise :)
It's your money and you can do what you want with it - but UBT is right, most folks are bailing (or have already bailed) from the lira other than for day to day stuff and paying the bills.
While the lira keeps falling, anything you change has instantly lost value against the original currency. It's a little bit like how a new car in the UK instantly loses value as soon as you leave the showroom.
Sort your account out when you're over and then keep an eye on the rates, as Colwyn said, November will be a very important month for the Turkish economy - the lira could go one way, or the other, very quickly.
JF
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Very sound advice from you guys. The marvel of CBF yet again! ;D
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I have a dear friend, Solicitor General Barrister Doctor Reverend Precious Ngbotingo who has always given me good advise in the past regarding my investments. I've sent him £100k so far and haven't heard from him for ages so I'm assuming he's now found a solution to my financial worries.
If you send me your UK account numbers, PINs, home address, telephone number, mobile number, mother's maiden name, first pet's name, I'll pass them on to him. I'm sure My Friend in Jesus, Precious would be delighted to take on any troublesome investment decisions on your behalf.
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It's reported today that 59 foreign pilots have resigned from Turkish Airlines due to the drop in the value of the Lira.
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Not quite as dramatic as it sounds. 59 pilots out of a total of approximately 700 have resigned in the last 8 months. So, it's not a mass-resignation.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/59-foreign-pilots-resign-from-turkish-airlines-in-eight-months.aspx?pageID=238&nid=88222
:)
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It was reported as fact, not drama. A bit more factual than your dear friend. :)
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I read with interest about the changes the election may have but have to be honest and say that I don't quite understand what these potential problems could be and how it will affect our finances.
I would be grateful for any explanations to enable me to understand it better.
Many thanks
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So from your earlier post and this one, we gather you plan to invest your money in an economy you admit you don't understand?
Good luck with that...
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I read with interest about the changes the election may have but have to be honest and say that I don't quite understand what these potential problems could be and how it will affect our finances.
So, what you're saying is that you have no idea what is happening in Turkey outside the perimeter of your property in Uzumlu? I thought you always did "research"?
Read the threads on here re the lira and have a look at any of the English language Turkish newspapers.
JF
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(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d12/nuclearcentury/bg/homer.gif)
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So I probably worded that wrong !
Of course I have been following with interest the changes to the Lira and Turkey politically but it's all so uncertain.
I guess what I was asking is what peoples views are on the potential changes that could happen with the election in November to enable me to understand it better.
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Yoshi, I, along with a lot of other members don't fully understand the Turkish financial, legal, religious and cultural systems.
I think you need to digest as much information as you can get from the internet, media, Turks and ex pats, think things through
then follow your gut feeling. My view for what it's worth is that the cause of all the troubles will be on the scene for the next
couple of years and Turkey seems evenly divided for and against that cause so things will remain the same or get worse until the
cause has gone. If I had a large sum of money to invest I think I would find somewhere far more settled than Turkey to invest it.
But there again what do I know. Good luck with your decision. :)
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Being somewhat biased on this subject (I admit to being an IFA), can I suggest you seek some financial advice - preferably independent?
For a start, if you believe that you are receiving 3% interest on your Santander savings of £60000, surely this is more than £38.00 (is that a month/year or what?)
By switching your savings abroad, you will take on exposure to currency risk and if you have an extremely cautious attitude to investment risk by nature (as I suspect) your savings will now carry a very significant additional risk.
Please think very carefully about this.
It is now very simple to transfer small and large sums abroad very efficiently at pretty much "spot rates", using PCs and smartphones/tablets. Why take the plunge to earn 10% interest on a currency that could lose 20% of its value each year for potentially a few years?
From a personal (not professional) point of view, I think the Turkish political scene has taken a marked turn for the worse. It pains me to say it, but bargepoles come to mind.
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£100,000 "invested" in 2005 at 2.25TL/£ bought you 225,000TL
That 225,000TL today, 10 years on, if you needed to get your pounds back would give you £47,823
You'd need some serious interest to counterbalance a loss of over 52 grand.
Welcome to Turkey.
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Thank you Kevin3
I appreciate your advise and your time to answer
Have a good weekend
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Do you only reply to the posts that manage to avoid telling you that you maybe haven't a clue?
From your choice of villa to buy, to throwing your savings down the drain, you have an amazing blindness to the posts from anyone who tells you that your idea or argument is fundamentally flawed.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink apparently. Here we see that there are certain horses you can't even lead to water.
But I do wish you luck, mainly because that may be all you have on your side.
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Listen to the people on here is the best advice. Turkey is NOT a good place to invest right now. I speak from expensive experience with the exchange rates, as do lots of other folks. Volatile political and economic situation which doesn't look like improving anytime soon.
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Correct LeeGlo - many members here have learned that to their cost but still people come along who know better.
One of the great frustrations of CBF (and forums in general) is that it doesn't matter how much previous experience people have available to draw on (13,000 members here for example) - there are always those who don't post questions to get answers, they post questions to find people who agree with them.
Investing in a currency on the slide significantly that in relatively recent times slid on through to 2,500,000 to the £ (before a cosmetic makeover removed the zeros). There is no reason why it can't end up there again if things turn nasty.
For those who are interested in non-supporting replies, I think that would make my example £100,000 worth 11p. Those who choose to ignore just bury your head in the sand (or should I say continue to) that is your choice and only you can decide - but once it hits 5, 10 isn't far away, then 150/£ then 5,000/£, 100,000/£ then 2,500,000/£ - hyperinflation is a steep slope that gets much steeper more quickly as time moves on.
But then again, what do I and several thousand other people who have been there and done it have to offer people with a lump of money who post all the findings they have discovered about lovely interest rates.
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4.59 in change shop in Fethiye.....just now
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I prefer a chunk of premium bonds or a flutter on the horses to investing in Turkey. Art is a good investment if you choose carefully. Anyone else any ideas about investing?
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Throwing it down a disused mineshaft and only being able to keep what you catch once you've thrown yourself down it too.
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4.59 in change shop in Fethiye.....just now
Expect that to increase tomorrow morning. Generally not much happens over the weekend in respect of exchange rates, but I'm seeing it as over 4.70 to the pound on XE & Yahoo just now - the banks rate in the morning will reflect this price.
Increasingly I'm hearing of "revaluation" in respect of the lira, in real terms it actually means "devaluation". Wont be the first time it's happened and I suspect not the last, if of course they do decide to devalue it.
JF
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Scanner I don't reply to you individually because as I have told you more than once I find you rude and personally feel you appear to enjoy belittling people. For some reason you appear to have a chip on your shoulder and are incapable of offering advise without adding your attempt at sarcasm which to be honest is laughable.
If in fact you choose to look back in the post I did reply to both you and JohnF but heard nothing back.
I feel it's a shame that what could be a great source of information has an administrator with the attitude that you have and have to say that a number of people I've met feel the same.
You appear to have this notion that just because people don't openly say they agree with you that the advise offered is completely ignored.
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incapable of offering advise without adding your attempt at sarcasm which to be honest is laughable.
Thanks for the compliment, the idea is indeed to make people laugh, glad this includes you too!
I am more than content now to sit back and let you get on with your amazing money making plan, I shall not attempt to try and help you see how ridiculous your plan is. Let's see how laughable my advice is when you ignore just about everyone in this topic and carry on with your plan to invest your wedge in a swiftly weakening currency in a failing economy.
I don't suppose that will be quite as laughable to you as my sarcasm but am long past trying to HELP people who can't even save themselves...
Oh, don't forget to come back and tell us how it went :)
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Scanner I don't reply to you individually because
And it's Scunner :D
This time next year you'll be a millionaire Yoshi :D
(http://www.leftovercurrency.com/Resources/banknote-1000000-turkish-lira.jpg)
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Let's be honest Scunner your attitude does not make people laugh you should try to get feedback from those that have to listen to you I think you would be surprised how unfunny people find you.
The most amazing thing about this is that you know absolutely nothing about my personal situation and yet you continually believe your advice to me is 100% valid and when I don't thank you for offering me a completely negative view of Turkey you feel it is ok to be rude. I think that says more about you than it does about me.
I have also discussed this with a good few people including your CBF members who are very happy with their choice of house and lifestyle in Turkey.
The truth is everybody's advice can be considered but it's not always applicable fully to individual circumstance.
Have a good evening
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you should try to get feedback from those that have to listen to you
What are you on about now! Nobody has to listen to me - they don't have to come here!!!
My attitude does make people laugh, I've done very well specifically out of making people laugh :D Maybe not you though as you and I appear to be from different planets.
Like I said, don't forget to let us know how the amazing TL investment plan goes :)
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Iv'e just invested a wedge with a Turkish shoe box manufacturer. Keeping my toes crossed now.
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(http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards/usercards/MjAxNC02MGIyMThlM2JjNTFjZTIw_531652057336f.png)
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Ok. I will stick to a grand ((purely for purpose of paying bills) .... And hold tight. And regards the santander 3%....(gross)....they only pay it on your first £20k...no matter how much you have invested. So yes, it is only £38/40 per month. thanks for advice.
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Sue Mac, regarding Santander, you and your husband can hold up to three accounts, one in joint names and one in each sole name. You can then put £20k into each. We use the joint as our main current account, then transfer 2 direct debits to be paid from the two sole accounts (the stipulation is that there has to be £500 income per month into each account and 2 direct debits paid from each account per month. You then get 3 percent paid on the £60k. With interest paid on certain direct debits also, it equates to roughly £40 per month interest on each account.
I have also set up 3 accounts with TSB with £2k in each, which earns 5 percent per month. From the Main current account in Santander, I have a standing order set up to pay £500 into the joint TSB account and 4 days later, another standing order is set up to pay the £500 back to one of the Santander sole accounts, then from there to the TSB sole account and so on, until the last standing order from the other sole TSB account back to the main Santander current account. This allows the accounts to all have the stipulated £500 per month income from a different bank, which is the stipulation of both banks. TSB do not require any payments out of the accounts but the 5 percent is only on a maximum balance of £2k.
Santander do charge £2 per month for each account but this is easily covered by extra interest paid on certain direct debits. TSB does not make a charge.
Well worth the hassle of setting up and there is no penalty for withdrawing so if extra money is needed to be withdrawn it is available instantly with no penalties.
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Thanks Sadler.....very informative without any hint of sarcasm. Good sound advice. I do have three 123 accounts, I just have 60k in each of them so I am only getting 3% on 60k unfortunately ;)). Our main idea is to invest around 120k again in property here, which will give us a return of around 7%....but as we are always in turkey, and having had so many people talking to us about investing......we thought we would check out some more opinions on here. im sorry that my initiaal thread has degenerated into An argument....as does happen quite frequently..(this was one of the reasons that i gradually removed myself from cbf on a regular basis).....iTS a shame really.....as im sure each and everyone of us on here can offer Some sound advice in one area/topic or another ....be iT finance/restaurants/car Hire etc etc. No body should be made to feel stupid Or belittled. Believe iT Or not, i was actually a financial advisor for ten plus years.....just never knew much about turkish politics Or economy. I have always been nervous about investing in turkey..but when turkish restaurant owners and ex pats alike are suggesting we invest....can't blame us for considering it? But surely also we are being sensible by asking for further advice on here? Ah well....
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You are very welcome Sue Mac. Good to be of assistance.
If it is of any further help, I had a bank account in Turkey until last year, as we sold last winter. I kept it only to pay bills, it never had more than a few hundred lire in it.
This political unrest has been on the cards for a while now and I do worry about folk who bought property at the height of the property boom and now wish to sell. The fact that they probably bought in sterling when the rate was something like 2.5 to the gps and now are trying to sell with a rate of nearly 6 lire to gps, it doesn't take much to work out that a crash is likely, particularly if it is Turkish people who are likely to purchase in lire.
There will be some spectacular bargains there soon! :)
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No body should be made to feel stupid Or belittled.
Has someone been made to feel stupid or belittled?
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I haven't.
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In praise of dithering.
If Sue Mac had changed up her £10k/£20k six days ago when this thread started she would have now lost about % of its value - i.e. £55/£1000 worth of value. Just as well she didn't do it.
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I haven't.
Yet.
JF
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In praise of dithering.
If Sue Mac had changed up her £10k/£20k six days ago when this thread started she would have now lost about % of its value - i.e. £55/£1000 worth of value. Just as well she didn't do it.
This post was full of mistakes. Serves me right for typing in bright sunshine in a bar overlooking a beach. The value lost would have been 5% and the amount equivalent to 500/1,000 UK Pounds.
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I knew what you meant Colwyn. A bit like my last post on here. After bedtime, perched on the arm of the settee as the iPad was plugged in to be charged, without my reading glasses on. Correct spelling of Turkish currency is "lira" and exchange rate almost 5 lira to gps, not 6, but then "I really don't care" ;)
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Bummer! Santander are raising their monthly 123 account monthly fee to £5 per month! :(
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Bummer! Santander are raising their monthly 123 account monthly fee to £5 per month! :(
Just been reading that in the DM, but even if you only have one account with the £20K it's still not a bad deal from the look of things. You made me dizzy trying to keep up with your standing orders here there and everywhere - talk about juggling your finances !!
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Lee glo, it's the only way I can get any interest. We don't want to invest long term, both our daughters are in the process of moving house, as are we. There is nothing we need to save for, so want easy access to some of our savings so that we can help out etc. Anyway, there is no interest to be had in "safe" investments. Have found that the bank current accounts after the government's granny bonds give the best return with no penalties for instant access. :)