HiFX denies speculation over money transfer outflows

The weak pound will effectively trap investors’ money from being sent out of the UK, despite the tax changes proposed in the Budget.

This is the view of HiFX, a currency specialist which released new research on the matter today.

According to the firm, private banking customers and other high-net worth individuals have seen money transfers out of the UK lose much of their value over recent months.

This is a direct result of the weakness in sterling, which recently hit a 24-year low against the dollar and an all-time low against the euro.

However, earlier in the week, rival currency firm Caxton FX said that it had experienced a ’surge’ in enquiries from people looking to move their money abroad and even emigrate, following the Budget.

One of the measures announced by Alistair Darling, chancellor of the exchequer, was a hike in the top rate of income tax from next April for those earning over £150,000 a year.

Mark Bodega, director at currency specialists HiFX, said: ’With sterling being so weak, people aren’t really willing to transfer money out of the country at the moment.’

He added: ’The main trend we are actually seeing is people taking advantage of the weak currency, and if they’ve got investments in the US or Europe they are selling those and actually repatriating the money, so it is the other way round.’ADNFCR-2318-ID-19150485-ADNFCR