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[Varche]

Won't affect too many OOFers but with a million Brits living in Iberia many people know someone here.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8963947/Eurozone-crisis-Foreign-Office-plans-evacuation-of-expatriates.html

This leads on from my posting/poll about preparedness for global banking meltdown.

I think the key issue for folk will be having access to cash to be able to buy stuff. Banks everywhere have the ability to limit how much you can draw each day/week. My own personal take on say Spain leaving the Euro is they announce it on a Friday night. Set an exchange rate for the as yet unprinted (we will call them new pesetas) currency. Next day we all wake up to instant devaluation of that rate and a shock as the banks have imposed limits on what we can withdraw. On the Sunday they announce that all Euro notes in issue can and will be stamped with equals x new pesetas. Spanish mint starts producing new peseta notes and coins that they have already secretly designed (purely as a contingency of course). Euro notes printed in Spain actually have a letter identifier, ditto all other EU countries.

This action might precipitate food cruises as Spaniards travel to other euro countries to spend their euros at a none devalued rate until those countries turn their notes away.

Far fetched ?  I hope so but you cannot be certain. I hope no one would condem the expats evacuated like people did those living/working in Libya at the start of the war.  I wonder if expats will precipitate a run on Spanish banks? I have already got all of my dosh out.

On the plus side holidays would become cheap in Spain............

[TheBoy]

I went to a large 'upmarket' resort (La Manga Club Resort) 2 years running in 2009 and 2010, and the difference between the 2 years was stuggering - 2009, villas were still being built (although heavily winding down), and 2nd hand ones were still selling. 2010, virtually everything was for sale, and nothing moving.  Even the villa we were in was in the estate agents for just over €1m, about half what similar ones were selling for a year earlier.

I think Spain is screwed

[Dishevelled Den]

Yes, my sister lives up near Bigastro (inland from Torrevieja) and has been absorbed into the native culture so I'll be interested to get her take on this.

It's a worry, without doubt, but I think you're wise to move your funds elsewhere as the controlled release of money to the general public, in the event of a breakdown, is a certainty - I'm waiting for the same to happen here.

[cleggy]

I would have thought that having a UK Bank Account would be sensible, and transfering funds as required. Aren't most of the expats pensioners who get their pension paid via the UK anyway?

I guess if you moved to work or run a business then there may be problems. Just use credit cards, move back to UK and forget to give them a forwarding address. Although might be a problem if you own property

[bootie]

It seems I was right in keeping my UK bank account then. I get paid into that then just transfer what I need. I may need to revise that amount soon. I'm just wondering what will become of all these money transfer companies???

Limited exposure to banks over here luckily!

[TheBoy]

Hmmm, I wonder if banks are ahead of the game here...   ...in last month, 2 have written to me stating charging for International transfers under certain scenarios....

[bootie]

Don't know about that but I can use my bank (debit card) with no charges, only time I have to pay is when I want to transfer an extra lump sum, but I have always had that charge since 2007, it's only 25 squid so not too much to worry about.
Have your charges changed that much that you are worried?