The Lemon Fool

I'm a British expat in Antigua, currently halfway through the build of a new house on the island. I have the GBP cash to complete the build, however I am reluctant to sell GBP / buy USD to complete the build at the moment for two reasons 1. obviously the recent exchange rate movements 2. I already own a villa on the island (our current home) that we are selling so ultimately we will have too much USD in the end (once complete I will actually want to sell some USD)

I am looking for a personal Currency Swap product or service, whereby I could deposit GBP funds into an account and receive USD. I would settle the USD upon sale of my existing house in order to recoup my GBP (less costs & interest). HOWEVER, having looked all over the internet and spoken to my banks I can't find a product like this! Does anyone know of anything or have any alternative suggestions? Even a USD currency loan with security against GBP deposit would work but I can't find anything (all anyone wants to offer me is either unsecured finance, or finance against the property...both with massive fees and interest...this seems crazy to me as surely you can't get more security for loaning cash than more cash?!)

Hi AntiguaCruising.

Have a chat to these guys - I use them for normal currency transfers (and have done for more than a decade)

https://www.ofx.com/en-gb/faqs/what-is-a-forward-contract/#:~:text=A%20Forward%20Contract%20is%20an,time%20the%20transaction%20takes%20place.

Whether it's a combination of a spot trade and a forward to "reverse" it, or something else, if you tell them your exact requirements, they can very likely help.

Regards, Newroad

Second recommendation for ofx - always had great service from them