How we help
Whether you require an overseas payment, an international investment, or even money for a holiday, our team of experienced treasury professionals can work with you and your private banker to deliver a range of foreign exchange solutions to suit your individual needs.
Our range of solutions includes:
Spot foreign exchange
A spot foreign exchange transaction involves the immediate conversion of one currency to another, with settlement occurring within two business days. We offer competitive pricing across 225 currency pairs.
Our online wealth service allows you to exchange up to £50,000 (or currency equivalent). It shows you the exchange rate, so you can choose whether to transact. The exchanged amounts are then settled over your bank accounts. If you are exchanging between sterling, euros and US dollars, settlement happens on the same day. For other currencies, settlement happens within two business days.
Our dedicated treasury team can provide indicative exchange rates for conversions of sums above £50,000. This service is available through your private banker.
Forward foreign exchange transactions
Forward foreign exchange contracts allow you to agree a rate at the time of execution and settle the exchange at any date in the future, giving you certainty over the conversion rate and what proceeds you will receive.
Forward foreign exchanges are an efficient way of protecting your investments or other currency exposures against adverse currency developments. To benefit from our expertise in this area, please contact your private banker who will be happy to discuss the best solution for you.
Foreign exchange orders
A foreign exchange order can be used if you are looking for a specific exchange rate, seeking to maximise profits, or to guard against adverse market movements. These orders can be placed for sums of £100,000 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies) and can be held for a specific period of time, or left open until executed, as long as you continue to hold sufficient money in your account to cover the settlement. We offer three order types depending on your needs:
If you want to transact at a specific exchange rate, but market rates have not quite achieved your level, a take profit order could be your solution. By placing an order with our treasury team at your desired rate, we can then monitor the exchange rate for a period of time determined by you. Should your desired level be reached, your trade will be settled, even if it is out of hours.
Case study: clients living in the UK, but receiving income in EUR, wanted to exchange their savings into GBP. They believed that GBP would weaken and wanted to take advantage of that weaker rate, but no one could know when this would occur. Via their private banker, they were able to place take profit orders in tranches, at various levels, so their cash flow requirements were also met.
This type of foreign exchange is designed to protect you against adverse movements in exchange rates. It is particularly useful if there is a requirement to exchange funds in the near future, but you feel that rates will move in your favour in the interim period.
Case study: a retired couple now living in Spain wished to make a EUR 500,000 gift to each of their three grandchildren, who still live in the UK with their parents and so would need the funds to be converted to GBP. They believed that the exchange rate would improve in the coming weeks and wished to take advantage of this to maximise the gift. At the same time, they wanted to protect themselves against the chance their view was incorrect.
Having discussed the situation with their private banker, they decided to put a stop loss order in place at a level they were comfortable with. They could then hold onto their EUR and could benefit by buying GBP should their exchange rate view prove correct. At the same time, they were protected if the rate moved against them. Periodic meetings were arranged with their private banker and, at one of the meetings, the couple decided to execute the exchange at a more advantageous rate than the original price.
This type of order is a combination of a take profit order and a stop loss order. It can be used if you have a transaction that needs to be completed at a specific exchange rate level you want to achieve, but you also want to protect your capital against any adverse market movements. Should one leg of the order be executed, the other leg will automatically be cancelled.
Case study: a client living in the UK needed to buy USD 1 million for investment purposes and had a minimum exchange rate at which they wished to convert their funds. The GBP to USD exchange rate was above their minimum rate at the time, but they had a strong view that the exchange rate would move in their favour in the coming weeks and reach a specific rate.
By placing a ‘one cancels other’ order, the client protected themselves against the exchange rate dropping below their threshold and, at the same time, allowed themselves the opportunity to take advantage if their target rate was achieved. Three weeks later, during Asian trading hours, the take profit element of the order was executed, with the stop loss element immediately cancelled.
Your private banker and our treasury specialists are able to assist you in managing your currency exposures and are happy to discuss these solutions with you
FX Direct
If you exchange currencies on a regular basis, execute high value trades or have a vested interest in currency markets, you may be interested in our bespoke FX Direct service. Benefits include:
- Direct telephone access to our experienced treasury dealers
Obtain current market pricing at the point of contact, with any deal execution or market related questions answered. - Bespoke pricing and deal execution
Opportunity to book transactions using our dedicated treasury team while also gaining insight into pricing trends and market intelligence. - Weekly market commentary
Receive weekly emails highlighting the major factors influencing the foreign exchange markets and key economic indicators. - Hedging facilities
Discuss appropriate hedging strategies with the team and, where appropriate, execute applicable forward foreign exchange contracts to protect against any adverse exchange rate movements. - Limit orders
Access an order service for the execution of foreign exchange transactions at pre-agreed levels. Monitoring is offered on a 24-hour basis across Asian, European and US trading hours.
Please note that this service does not constitute advice. We recommend that you speak to your accountant, legal or tax adviser to understand any implications of actions for your individual circumstances.
Get in touch
If you are interested in becoming a client, please complete the form via the ‘become a client’ button below. Alternatively, if you are already a client, or if you have a question about how we help clients in particular circumstances, please use the ‘contact us’ button.
We will get back to you as soon as we can during office hours, which are Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm (UK time), except for UK public holidays.