Hi everyone
We are moving to Brussels in May and are wondering which bank to join, do any of you have any recommendations or advise? Any that we should steer clear of?

Many thanks
Emma

Hi,

We opened an account with ING before we left England and have always had excellent service. Our bank cards and bank guarantee for rental apartment were ready and waiting when we arrived in Brussels. The website is available in English, and we have an english speaker at our local branch. They have internet and phone banking which is easy to use, though we found it strange that an appointment at the branch is always necessary if you want to eg take out insurance or borrow money - no online applications. They have branches all over...

I found ING to be great too, have bent over backwards and service is much better than the UK. The probloem I have had is transferring money back to the UK - between them ING and HSBC have lost a five figured sum ... it is now a month since I sent the transfer and they can't yet find where it is. not sure who to blame - probably HSBC.

Blimey! I hope they find your money soon.

Thanks for the advice

fortis have been with them for over 20 years and when i returned back to glasgow still get good service from them

Really liked ING. They have multilingual employees and a specialised expat branch. Plus they have an atm or ING bankshop all over the city. Also they are more global than the other banks. It's especially easy when you have an insurance or a mortgage with them.

Strange thing is their online banking. Compared to the Dutch ING it really sucks, but is workable. But they said they are busy connecting and upgrading the online international branches so it will improve.