The new office will be opened by its offshore wealth management arm, Barclays International, and will offer UAE investors with US$200,000 or more to invest a comprehensive banking and investment advisory service.
The office opening is part of Barclays strategic expansion into key international markets, of which the UAE has been identified as a crucial growth area. It follows Barclays International's expansion into a similarly bustling business centre, Hong Kong, earlier this year.
Barclays International Premier is the first personal investment unit in Dubai to provide a selection of sophisticated products and services to clients with a minimum of US$200,000 to invest - this service is normally reserved for private bank clients.
Clients will be able to benefit from the security of Barclays, the tenth largest bank in the world by market capitalisation, with assets under management of nearly £700 billion and a reputation built over 300 years.
Adrian Crichton, Director of Barclays International Personal and Premier explained, 'Launching this new service ties in with the Barclays Group strategy to increase the proportion of income that it generates from operations outside of the UK and to grow its global wealth business. Dubai was identified as an ideal market to launch this service as it is a growing city, which is home to an ever-increasing number of sophisticated business people who want the best money management they can access.'
The bank also unveiled consumer qualitative research, which highlights low levels of customer satisfaction with wealth management banking.
David Inglesfield, Head of Barclays International Premier in the UAE commented, 'The UAE is widely recognized as one of the key financial centers in the world. With the amount of capital that is based here and the level of investment that is occurring in so many different sectors, it made sense to us to establish a firm base here.
'The data we uncovered from our recent survey into people's wealth management needs revealed what people in the UAE want from a wealth management organization. We have used these market insights to help us formulate the new dedicated, UAE-based offshore banking service - Barclays International Premier, which we have launched here today,' said Mr Inglesfield.
The service offered to those who bring their business to Barclays International Premier is designed to be differentiated from others already available in the market and will benefit from relationship managers on the ground in the UAE with their accounts booked in Geneva through Barclays Bank (Suisse) S.A., which has a market leading operations system.
David Inglesfield explained, 'Clients in the UAE will benefit from the highest possible standards of personal service and local insight from a team of professionally qualified relationship managers based in Dubai, who in turn have access to a wealth of knowledge from Geneva based product experts.'
'Other advantages of the new service include access to more competitive deposit rates, and professional advice on a very wide range of longer terms savings and investment strategies, using the world's best products and providers - the service is not limited to Barclays own product range.'
Barclays provides banking services to more than one million affluent and high net worth clients around the globe and now operates four businesses in the UAE - Barclays UAE for Business Banking and in 2005 will provide Retail Banking, Barclays Capital for Investment Banking, Barclays Private Bank and Barclays International.
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Bank of Scotland International has recorded strong financial result during 2006 and has seen operating profits increase to £39.4m from £37.8m in 2005.
Financial highlights include:
- A record year for savings balance growth, with the value of savings deposits increasing by 23%. In particular, Bank of Scotland International's fixed deposit offering has been spectacularly successful, contributing £600m of the £1bn increase in balances.
- £1bn additional Treasury deposits.
- The highest year-on-year increase in mortgage volumes, which increased by 56%. This was assisted by a strong sales performance and the distribution partnership with the UK BOS Residential Mortgages team.
Neale Smith, Finance Director at Bank of Scotland International, said,"These are strong results, reflecting a high level of commitment from all of our staff. Our growth strategies are really starting to pay off."
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Bank of Scotland International is the international banking division of Bank of Scotland plc, part of Lloyds Banking Group. It is headquartered in Jersey. It also has operations in the Isle of Man and Hong Kong. [1].
The Bank offers offshore banking facilities to customers, with accounts available in Pound sterling as well as US dollars and euros.
The Bank was formed shortly after the merger of Bank of Scotland and Halifax to form HBOS, and the two bank's international arms were merged. Bank of Scotland Offshore Limited, based in the Isle of Man was merged with Halifax International Limited based in Jersey.
The Bank offers offshore banking facilities to customers, with accounts available in Pound sterling as well as US dollars and euros.
The Bank was formed shortly after the merger of Bank of Scotland and Halifax to form HBOS, and the two bank's international arms were merged. Bank of Scotland Offshore Limited, based in the Isle of Man was merged with Halifax International Limited based in Jersey.
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On 22 September 2008, RFS Holdings B.V., the company incorporated by RBS, Fortis and Santander to acquire ABN AMRO Holding N.V. (“ABN AMRO”), completed the squeeze out of minority shareholders of ABN AMRO. As a result, RFS Holdings B.V. has now become the sole shareholder of ABN AMRO.
ABN AMRO Holding N.V. held its final General Meeting of Shareholders on 11 April 2008 at the Head Office of ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Gustav Mahlerlaan 10, 1082 PP Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On this page you can find more information about that meeting and others that have taken place in the past.
ABN AMRO Holding N.V. held its final General Meeting of Shareholders on 11 April 2008 at the Head Office of ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Gustav Mahlerlaan 10, 1082 PP Amsterdam, the Netherlands. On this page you can find more information about that meeting and others that have taken place in the past.
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LONDON — The Royal Bank of Scotland said on Tuesday that it might cut as many as 9,000 jobs worldwide as the troubled British bank, which is majority-owned by the government, sought to reduce costs and repay government funds.
And as expected, the British government increased its stake in the bank to 70 percent on Tuesday from 58 percent after investors shunned a share sale offer that expired Monday, leaving the government to purchase the unsold shares.
The job cuts would affect back-office operations and would add to the 2,700 already announced in Britain for this year. The bank said the actual number of layoffs would be lower than 9,000 because “natural turnover” and “less use of agency staff” would further help to limit job losses. In addition, the bank said it had already identified 650 new job opportunities in Britain.
“We have set a new strategy for R.B.S. to restore the bank to stand-alone strength as soon as practicable,” the chief executive, Stephen Hester, said in a statement. “From this we want the government to be able to realize value from its investment in R.B.S. To do so, we need to cut our costs, as in all businesses given the current recession.”
The bank, which reported the biggest loss in British corporate history for last year, is in talks with unions about the job cuts. The layoff would help save £2.5 billion($3.7 billion), over the next three years.
Unite, Britain’s largest trade union, criticized the decision to cut jobs in the back office, saying the employees are “totally blameless for the current position which R.B.S. is in, yet they are paying for the mistakes at the top of the bank.” The union called on the government to “defend jobs and act urgently to put in place a clear program of action to protect jobs in this country.”
“This bank, which is majority owned by the taxpayer must not be allowed to shed jobs and leave people on the dole,” it said.
The job cuts are planned in the bank’s Group Manufacturing unit, which combines back office functions like the handling of computer systems, managing the properties of branches and offices, procurement, security and fraud and human resources. The unit employs 45,000 people worldwide, or 26 percent of the total work force, and 27,000 in Britain.
Unemployment in Britain could reach 3.2 million by the third quarter of 2010, The British Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday in its quarterly survey. There are some signs that the services industry might improve but there is “more pain to come” from the manufacturing sector, the survey said.
And as expected, the British government increased its stake in the bank to 70 percent on Tuesday from 58 percent after investors shunned a share sale offer that expired Monday, leaving the government to purchase the unsold shares.
The job cuts would affect back-office operations and would add to the 2,700 already announced in Britain for this year. The bank said the actual number of layoffs would be lower than 9,000 because “natural turnover” and “less use of agency staff” would further help to limit job losses. In addition, the bank said it had already identified 650 new job opportunities in Britain.
“We have set a new strategy for R.B.S. to restore the bank to stand-alone strength as soon as practicable,” the chief executive, Stephen Hester, said in a statement. “From this we want the government to be able to realize value from its investment in R.B.S. To do so, we need to cut our costs, as in all businesses given the current recession.”
The bank, which reported the biggest loss in British corporate history for last year, is in talks with unions about the job cuts. The layoff would help save £2.5 billion($3.7 billion), over the next three years.
Unite, Britain’s largest trade union, criticized the decision to cut jobs in the back office, saying the employees are “totally blameless for the current position which R.B.S. is in, yet they are paying for the mistakes at the top of the bank.” The union called on the government to “defend jobs and act urgently to put in place a clear program of action to protect jobs in this country.”
“This bank, which is majority owned by the taxpayer must not be allowed to shed jobs and leave people on the dole,” it said.
The job cuts are planned in the bank’s Group Manufacturing unit, which combines back office functions like the handling of computer systems, managing the properties of branches and offices, procurement, security and fraud and human resources. The unit employs 45,000 people worldwide, or 26 percent of the total work force, and 27,000 in Britain.
Unemployment in Britain could reach 3.2 million by the third quarter of 2010, The British Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday in its quarterly survey. There are some signs that the services industry might improve but there is “more pain to come” from the manufacturing sector, the survey said.
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Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Over the last decade, through an aggressive series of acquisitions, Bank of America has transformed itself from a regional institution into the nation's largest brokerage house and consumer banking franchise. But its largest and boldest move -- the September 2008 purchase of Merrill Lynch, when that famed brokerage house was at death's door -- may have been a deal too far. On Jan. 14, 2009, the Treasury announced that it was injecting $20 billion into Bank of America (on top of $25 billion it received in the financial system bailout) and pledging to absorb as much as $98 billion in losses on toxic mortgage assets that Merrill brought with it.
The Merrill Lynch deal drew heavy criticism, and in April 2009 shareholders voted to strip the bank's chief executive, Kenneth D. Lewis, of his title as chairman of the board -- a stinging blow that leaves his stewardship and legacy in doubt. The board said that it still unanimously supported Mr. Lewis in his role as chief executive.
In May 2009 the government told Bank of America that its so-called stress test indicated that the bank would need to raise $33.9 billion in new capital to withstand any worsening of the economic downturn. If the bank is unable to raise the capital cushion by selling assets or stock it would have to rely on the government, possibly converting converting non-voting preferred shares it gave the government into common stock. Such a move could make the government one of the bank's largest shareholders.
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Credit card issuers have drawn fire for jacking up interest rates on cardholders who aren't behind on payments but whose credit scores have fallen for other reasons. Now, some consumers complain, Bank of America is increasing rates based on no apparent deterioration in their credit scores at all.
The major credit card lender in mid-January sent letters notifying some responsible cardholders that it would more than double their rates to as high as 28%, without giving explanations for the increases, according to copies of five letters obtained by BusinessWeek.
Fine print at the end of the letter -- headed "Important Amendment to Your Credit Card Agreement" –- advised calling an 800-number for the reason, but consumers who called say they were unable to get a clear answer.
"No one could give me an explanation," says Eric Fresch, a Huron, Ohio, engineer who is on time with his Bank of America card payments and knows of no decline in the status of his overall credit.
Bank of America spokeswoman Betty Riess confirms some bank cardholders could be receiving rate increases for reasons other than declines in credit scores, such as running higher balances with their Bank of America cards or with other creditors. She says the increases are part of a "periodic review" that assesses customers' credit risk.
Reiss declined to say if the Charlotte, N.C., bank had changed its credit standards, thereby bumping some consumers' rates, or how many cardholders were being affected by the review. Bank of America has 40 million U.S. credit card accounts.
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Wikizines are interactive magazines that anyone can create or edit - and this one is about Paris Barclay. Here you can find fresh voices and respond in real time. Some members write articles about recent news and trends related to the wikizine's topic, others recount relevant personal stories or share their favorite pictures and video clips. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this wikizine? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own article!
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Money management is a critical point that shows difference between winners and losers. It was proved that if 100 traders start trading using a system with 60% winning odds, only 5 traders will be in profit at the end of the year. In spite of the 60% winning odds 95% of traders will lose because of their poor money management. Money management is the most significant part of any trading system. Most of traders don't understand how important it is.
It's important to understand the concept of money management and understand the difference between it and trading decisions. Money management represents the amount of money you are going to put on one trade and the risk your going to accept for this trade.
There are different money management strategies. They all aim at preserving your balance from high risk exposure.
First of all, you should understand the following term Core equity
Core equity = Starting balance - Amount in open positions.
If you have a balance of 10,000$ and you enter a trade with 1,000$ then your core equity is 9,000$. If you enter another 1,000$ trade,your core equity will be 8,000$
It's important to understand what's meant by core equity since your money management will depend on this equity.
We will explain here one model of money management that has proved high anual return and limited risk. The standard account that we will be discussing is 100,000$ account with 20:1 leverage . Anyway,you can adapt this strategy to fit smaller or bigger trading accounts.
Money management strategy
Your risk per a trade should never exceed 3% per trade. It's better to adjust your risk to 1% or 2%
We prefer a risk of 1% but if you are confident in your trading system then you can lever your risk up to 3%
1% risk of a 100,000$ account = 1,000$
You should adjust your stop loss so that you never lose more than 1,000$ per a single trade.
If you are a short term trader and you place your stop loss 50 pips below/above your entry point .
50 pips = 1,000$
1 pips = 20$
The size of your trade should be adjusted so that you risk 20$/pip. With 20:1 leverage,your trade size will be 200,000$
If the trade is stopped, you will lose 1,000$ which is 1% of your balance.
This trade will require 10,000$ = 10% of your balance.
If you are a long term trader and you place your stop loss 200 pips below/above your entry point.
200 pips = 1,000$
1 pip = 5$
The size of your trade should be adjusted so that you risk 5$/pip. With 20:1 leverage, your trade size will be 50,000$
If the trade is stopped, you will lose 1,000$ which is 1% of your balance.
This trade will require 2,500$ = 2.5% of your balance.
This's just an example. Your trading balance and leverage provided by your broker may differ from this formula. The most important is to stick to the 1% risk rule. Never risk too much in one trade. It's a fatal mistake when a trader lose 2 or 3 trades in a row, then he will be confident that his next trade will be winning and he may add more money to this trade. This's how you can blow up your account in a short time! A disciplined trader should never let his emotions and greed control his decisions.
Diversification
Trading one currnecy pair will generate few entry signals. It would be better to diversify your trades between several currencies. If you have 100,000$ balance and you have open position with 10,000$ then your core equity is 90,000$. If you want to enter a second position then you should calculate 1% risk of your core equity not of your starting balance!. Itmeans that the second trade risk should never be more than 900$. If you want to enter a 3rd position and your core equity is 80,000$ then the risk per 3rd trade should not exceed 800$
It's important that you diversify your prders between currencies that have low correlation.
For example, If you have long EUR/USD then you shouldn't long GBP/USD since they have high correlation. If you have long EUR/USD and GBP/USD positions and risking 3% per trade then your risk is 6% since the trades will tend to end in same direction.
If you want to trade both EUR/USD and GBP/USD and your standard position size from your money management is 10,000$ (1% risk rule) then you can trade 5,000$ EUR/USD and 5,000$ GBP/USD. In this way,you will be risking 0.5% on each position.
The Martingale and anti-martingale strategy
It's very important to understand these 2 strategies.
-Martingale rule = increasing your risk when losing !
This's a startegy adopted by gamblers which claims that you should increase the size of you trades when losing. It's applied in gambling in the following way Bet 10$,if you lose bet 20$,if you lose bet 40$,if you lose bet 80$,if you lose bet 160$..etc
This strategy assumes that after 4 or 5 losing trades,your chance to win is bigger so you should add more money to recover your loss! The truth is that the odds are same in spite of your previous loss! If you have 5 losses in a row ,still your odds for 6th bet 50:50! The same fatal mistake can be made by some novice traders. For example,if a trader started with a abalance of 10,000$ and after 4 losing trades (each is 1,000$) his balance is 6000$. The trader will think that he has higher chances of winning the 5th trade then he will increase ths size of his position 4 times to recover his loss. If he lose,his balance will be 2,000$!! He will never recover from 2,000$ to his startiing balance 10,000$. A disciplined trader should never use such gambling method unless he wants to lose his money in a short time.
-Anti-martingale rule = increase your risk when winning& decrease your risk when losing
It means that the trader should adjust the size of his positions according to his new gains or losses.
Example: Trader A starts with a balance of 10,000$. His standard trade size is 1,000$
After 6 months,his balance is 15,000$. He should adjust his trade size to 1,500$
Trader B starts with 10,000$.His standard trade size is 1,000$
After 6 months his balance is 8,000$. He should adjust his trade size to 800$
High return strategy
This strategy is for traders looking for higher return and still preserving their starting balance.
According to your money management rules,you should be risking 1% of you balance. If you start with 10,000$ and your trade size is 1,000$ (Risk 1%) After 1 year,your balance is 15,000$. Now you have your initial balance + 5,000$ profit. You can increase your potential profit by risking more from this profit while restricting your initial balance risk to 1%. For example,you can calcualte your trade in the following pattern:
1% risk 10,000$ (initial balance)+ 5% of 5,000$ (profit)
In this way,you will have more potential for higher returns and on the same time you are still risking 1% of your initial deposit.
It's important to understand the concept of money management and understand the difference between it and trading decisions. Money management represents the amount of money you are going to put on one trade and the risk your going to accept for this trade.
There are different money management strategies. They all aim at preserving your balance from high risk exposure.
First of all, you should understand the following term Core equity
Core equity = Starting balance - Amount in open positions.
If you have a balance of 10,000$ and you enter a trade with 1,000$ then your core equity is 9,000$. If you enter another 1,000$ trade,your core equity will be 8,000$
It's important to understand what's meant by core equity since your money management will depend on this equity.
We will explain here one model of money management that has proved high anual return and limited risk. The standard account that we will be discussing is 100,000$ account with 20:1 leverage . Anyway,you can adapt this strategy to fit smaller or bigger trading accounts.
Money management strategy
Your risk per a trade should never exceed 3% per trade. It's better to adjust your risk to 1% or 2%
We prefer a risk of 1% but if you are confident in your trading system then you can lever your risk up to 3%
1% risk of a 100,000$ account = 1,000$
You should adjust your stop loss so that you never lose more than 1,000$ per a single trade.
If you are a short term trader and you place your stop loss 50 pips below/above your entry point .
50 pips = 1,000$
1 pips = 20$
The size of your trade should be adjusted so that you risk 20$/pip. With 20:1 leverage,your trade size will be 200,000$
If the trade is stopped, you will lose 1,000$ which is 1% of your balance.
This trade will require 10,000$ = 10% of your balance.
If you are a long term trader and you place your stop loss 200 pips below/above your entry point.
200 pips = 1,000$
1 pip = 5$
The size of your trade should be adjusted so that you risk 5$/pip. With 20:1 leverage, your trade size will be 50,000$
If the trade is stopped, you will lose 1,000$ which is 1% of your balance.
This trade will require 2,500$ = 2.5% of your balance.
This's just an example. Your trading balance and leverage provided by your broker may differ from this formula. The most important is to stick to the 1% risk rule. Never risk too much in one trade. It's a fatal mistake when a trader lose 2 or 3 trades in a row, then he will be confident that his next trade will be winning and he may add more money to this trade. This's how you can blow up your account in a short time! A disciplined trader should never let his emotions and greed control his decisions.
Diversification
Trading one currnecy pair will generate few entry signals. It would be better to diversify your trades between several currencies. If you have 100,000$ balance and you have open position with 10,000$ then your core equity is 90,000$. If you want to enter a second position then you should calculate 1% risk of your core equity not of your starting balance!. Itmeans that the second trade risk should never be more than 900$. If you want to enter a 3rd position and your core equity is 80,000$ then the risk per 3rd trade should not exceed 800$
It's important that you diversify your prders between currencies that have low correlation.
For example, If you have long EUR/USD then you shouldn't long GBP/USD since they have high correlation. If you have long EUR/USD and GBP/USD positions and risking 3% per trade then your risk is 6% since the trades will tend to end in same direction.
If you want to trade both EUR/USD and GBP/USD and your standard position size from your money management is 10,000$ (1% risk rule) then you can trade 5,000$ EUR/USD and 5,000$ GBP/USD. In this way,you will be risking 0.5% on each position.
The Martingale and anti-martingale strategy
It's very important to understand these 2 strategies.
-Martingale rule = increasing your risk when losing !
This's a startegy adopted by gamblers which claims that you should increase the size of you trades when losing. It's applied in gambling in the following way Bet 10$,if you lose bet 20$,if you lose bet 40$,if you lose bet 80$,if you lose bet 160$..etc
This strategy assumes that after 4 or 5 losing trades,your chance to win is bigger so you should add more money to recover your loss! The truth is that the odds are same in spite of your previous loss! If you have 5 losses in a row ,still your odds for 6th bet 50:50! The same fatal mistake can be made by some novice traders. For example,if a trader started with a abalance of 10,000$ and after 4 losing trades (each is 1,000$) his balance is 6000$. The trader will think that he has higher chances of winning the 5th trade then he will increase ths size of his position 4 times to recover his loss. If he lose,his balance will be 2,000$!! He will never recover from 2,000$ to his startiing balance 10,000$. A disciplined trader should never use such gambling method unless he wants to lose his money in a short time.
-Anti-martingale rule = increase your risk when winning& decrease your risk when losing
It means that the trader should adjust the size of his positions according to his new gains or losses.
Example: Trader A starts with a balance of 10,000$. His standard trade size is 1,000$
After 6 months,his balance is 15,000$. He should adjust his trade size to 1,500$
Trader B starts with 10,000$.His standard trade size is 1,000$
After 6 months his balance is 8,000$. He should adjust his trade size to 800$
High return strategy
This strategy is for traders looking for higher return and still preserving their starting balance.
According to your money management rules,you should be risking 1% of you balance. If you start with 10,000$ and your trade size is 1,000$ (Risk 1%) After 1 year,your balance is 15,000$. Now you have your initial balance + 5,000$ profit. You can increase your potential profit by risking more from this profit while restricting your initial balance risk to 1%. For example,you can calcualte your trade in the following pattern:
1% risk 10,000$ (initial balance)+ 5% of 5,000$ (profit)
In this way,you will have more potential for higher returns and on the same time you are still risking 1% of your initial deposit.
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Miva Merchant is among the most prominent ecommerce brands. The company was launched in 1995 as HTMLScript Corporation, and it’s one of the early day shopping cart providers. It rose, and then fell, with the first dotcom boom and bust. In 2005, the company sold to Findwhat.com, a publicly-traded, pioneering online advertising network, which then changed its name to Miva. The new Miva later sold the shopping cart division, called Miva Merchant, to private investors in 2007.
Observers of Miva Merchant have long believed that its business model, selling software licenses to hosting companies for as little as $50 apiece, is flawed. The model provided a small, one-time revenue injection, but left the company saddled with ongoing expenses, observers believed. Moreover, critics of Miva Merchant claim that its software required the use of third-party modules, but many of those modules conflict and do not function on all versions of the shopping cart.
Into all of this stepped Russ Carroll, who is now the CEO and majority owner of Miva Merchant. Carroll led the private investor group that purchased the company in August 2007. A seasoned, successful entrepreneur, Carroll is trained in astrophysics and space science and spent the early part of his career in that field. In time, he entered the business world and became the CEO of Providence Systems, a provider of training and coaching products. Rick Wilson, who had previously worked at Miva Merchant, headed-up sales at Providence Systems, and it was Wilson who persuaded Carroll to purchase Miva Merchant after Carroll had successfully sold his interest in Providence. Wilson is now executive vice president of Miva Merchant.
Carroll says he’s always known that Miva Merchant’s business model was broken. He says he first focused on improving both the software itself and customer service. The move to a recurring-revenue, software-as-a-service model happens on May 1, 2009. In conjunction with that switch, Carroll and Wilson visited with Practical eCommerce publisher Kerry Murdock.
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HSBC Direct has usually had one of the most competitive interest rates, so I opened an account there. I didn’t open it because I was planning on moving funds from a 2.70% ING Direct account, I did it because the cost of opening an online savings account was near zero and because I could then start funneling income deposited into a 0% Bank of America checking account into the new HSBC Direct account. It doesn’t make much sense to move funds from ING or Emigrant to HSBC, but it does make sense to change the destination of funds from Bank of America.
There were a few other non-financial reasons for opening the account. First, there’s no marginal cost to opening another savings account. HSBC has a well known international name and has consistently been among the leaders in interest rates. I would be hesitant to open an account at a lesser known bank. HSBC’s international presence is also a benefit. When we were in China and Taiwan, HSBC was everywhere (along with Citigroup) and that’s a side benefit. Lastly, my mom has an HSBC account, in part because of the China and Taiwan presence, and having that link is convenient as well.
Opening An HSBC Account
The HSBC account opening process is quick and painless (~10 minutes), though it requires more information than most banks because they try to set up everything in one pass. You start by giving the typical personal information all banks ask including social security number. They do a quick inquiry and ask you for three items from your credit history. Then, you get the option of linking a bank account right there.
They verify your bank account by requesting your login credentials and then login. My bank account was linked within seconds (and the transfer was initiated). No more waiting 3-5 business days for two small deposits, the verification process is done right there. Very nice touch.
After about two days, HSBC starts sending you emails (there are quite a few) about your registration, how to log on and set up your account for the first time. Specifically, they’ll email you a link to the Internet Banking Activation page and a registration code, but don’t bother going trying to activate until you get your temporary password by postal mail. Yeah, they mail your temporary password by pony express.
In all fairness, the letter got here pretty quickly. I opened my account on June 4th, received my temporary registration number by email on June 6th, and received the temporary password on June 7th (the letter was dated June 5th). However, because of the mail, any time that was shaved off in the bank linking portion is now definitely lost waiting for a password via mail (probably why they do that). It’s all done in the name of security but it strikes me as a bit unnecessary and overkill.
From here, you go to the activation page, enter in those codes, set up your account access credentials (which includes a username, password, and security key that must be entered by on-screen keyboard), enter two security questions, and you’re in! (whew!)
Bank to Bank Transfers
Well, I was curious as to whether HSBC would let me link up with ING Direct and they did! I submitted a request through the Bank to Bank Transfer online form, HSBC made two trial deposits to my ING Derect account, I verified the transaction and the link was created. It’s important to remember that Federal Reserve Regulation D limits the number of transactions on a savings account to six a month, so I just expended two in the verification process.
Quicken & Money Data Support
Quicken and MS Money data addicts users will be happy to know that HSBC Direct offers support for both applications (for Quicken, you get Windows and Mac version support).
Thoughts
Overall I’m pleased with HSBC Direct so far.
Here’s another, incredibly comprehensive, HSBC Direct review written by your good friend and mine, Cap.
