Opening a bank account in France.

Now opening a bank account in France can be done right from your PC. We are only need a few simple documents and you can have your French bank account open in 48hours. Many people find the process of opening a bank account in France quite daunting, especially trying to overcome the language barrier.

French Private Finance now offers this service for a small fee which comes with the following benefits.

• No need to travel to France to open your French bank account

o All the process could be done online

• No need to speak French

o English speaking customer service are there to help you

o Solve your issue quickly and easily

The documents for opening a bank account in France via French Private Finance are as follows:

• Signed French bank account application (copy first and then the original in the post to us)
• Passport copy
• Last two salary slips if you are employed or your last tax return if you are self-employed
• Utility bill less than 3 months old
• Mariage certificate if applicable
• Your reservation contract/title of the property in France – if applicable

You will need to be an existing or future French property owner.

If you require help or assistance from your property in France, just give us a call on +44 207 471 503 or contact us .

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What is the EURIBOR anyway?

The EURIBOR (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) is the main index against which French banks set their variable rate loans. For variable rate loans in the UK we generally use the Bank of England base rate plus a margin (the banks charge for lending the money). Linking rate changes to the main bank index makes it easier to judge when rates change.

By comparison, in France, variable rate mortgages are linked to an Euribor. There are Euribor rates ranging from 1 month to 1 year, the one day Euribor being the lowest and the 12 month the highest (1.2%). Most banks use the 3 month Euribor, for variable French mortgages which currently stands at 1.18% as we can see from the French market trends box. To this rate of 1.18%, French banks add their margin. The average margin is currently 2%, which if added to the 3 month Euribor today gives a variable rate of 3.18%. The Euribor is calculated as a daily average of lending rates by a sample of 57 of the most active banks in the Euro zone and broadcast at 11am im the morning. In practice, the main changes to the Euribor rates come only when the main ECB rate changes. Banks usually use the average of the last quarter when calculating and applying any changes to your rate.

It is always important to check which Euribor rate as well as the margin added to your loan and to compare likefor like as a loan with a lower margin might be based on the much higher 12 month Euribor.

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