Summary

Rates are constantly fluctuating; this means if your desired rate is hit there may only be a small window of opportunity to exchange your funds. Unfortunately if your funds are held elsewhere, by the time your money has been transferred by your banking institution and received by Commonwealth Bank London, the opportunity may have passed. The STCA allows your cleared funds to be held with the Commonwealth Bank’s London office, until you are ready to transfer your funds to Australia.

Rates, Fees & Conditions:

Fees:

• There are no fees for holding funds with the Commonwealth Bank in London.
  Please Note: You may be charged by your financial institution for transferring funds to the Commonwealth Bank's London Office.

Rates:

• Interest Rate: The current interest rate on the STCA account is 0.25% gross (current at 04/12/2009)
  

Conditions:

• Opening balance of GBP £30,000.00 or more
• To access the STCA you must hold a London Transfer Account.

Features:

• There is no fee for holding the Sterling Short Term Call Account
• The account is opened automatically when you lodge amounts over GBP £30,000.00 with the Commonwealth Bank’s London office
• The STCA gives you instant access to our foreign exchange services
• Sums in excess of GBP £30,000 can be lodged into an STCA account on an interest-bearing basis while you monitor exchange rates
• Your funds are cleared and ready to be sent if the rate hits your desired rate
• When you are ready to convert your funds, you can choose to convert the total amount or part of the amount held in your STCA

Example:

Paul Brown is migrating to Sydney in 6 months time. He has just settled his property and has GBP £200,000.00 that he would like to send across to Australia. The current exchange rate is not in his favour, but he would like his funds ready to go if the rate peaks. He transfers the GBp £200,000.00 to the Commonwealth Bank's London office via a CHAPS transfer, where it is placed into an STCA account. Paul watches the exchange rates movements via the web, and the daily E-Rate email (please refer to the E-Rate Currency Email). When the rate hits his desired high, he phones the Commonwealth Bank in London and asks to trade the first GBP £100,000.00 of his funds from GBP to AUD. Paul is identified, a rate is agreed over the phone, and the funds are traded while Paul is on the line. Two business days later the traded funds are received into Paul's new Australian account held with the Commonwealth Bank in Sydney.

Summary

Spot Contracts enable you to immediately agree on an exchange rate over the phone, and convert your funds on the spot, allowing you to know the exact rate and amount you will be sending to Australia.

Fees & Conditions:

Fees:

• GBP £15.00 - per transfer to Australia for amounts up to GBP £29,999.99.
  Transfers GBP £30,000.00 and over attract no charge.

Conditions:

• To access Spot Contracts you must hold a London Transfer Account.

Features:

• You can agree on a rate over the phone
• Funds are traded while you are on the line to your Relationship Manager
• Funds are credited to your Australian based Commonwealth Bank account in 2 - 3 business days
• You will receive competitive rates of exchange

Example:

Jenny Heywood is going to Australia on a working holiday and has sent GBP £5,000.00 to the Commonwealth Bank's London office via a BACS transfer ready to be sent across to Australia. The bank has been holding it for the past 3 weeks while Jenny has been monitoring the exchange rate, one morning she logs on to the web and sees the rate has improved. She rings the London office, is identified by the relationship manager, agrees on an exchange rate over the phone, and the funds are sent across to her Australian Account.

Summary

Forward Contracts allow you to lock in a rate, and settle up to 12 months in the future. Longer terms may be available on request. Forward contracts may be of interest to you if your funds are not yet available (i.e. - house sale, investment funds) and you wish to take advantage of the current exchange rate.

Fees & Conditions:

Fees:

• There are no charges for making use of the Forward Contract facility.
• A fee of GBP £15.00 is charged for an Extension on the Delivery Date of the Forward Contract.

Conditions:

• To access Forward Contracts you must hold a London Transfer Account.
• 10% of the total amount is required as a deposit to secure the contract; this must be cleared and available to the Commonwealth Bank's London office at the time of entering into the Forward Contract
• If you are planning on using the proceeds of a house sale for your Forward Contract, instead of a deposit you may choose to provide a letter from your Solicitor addressed to the Commonwealth Bank's London office confirming:
  • Contracts on the property have been exchanged.
  • The amount of net proceeds expected at settlement.
  • The settlement date.
  • The Solicitor holds your irrevocable instructions that settlement proceeds are to be paid direct to your London Transfer Account held with the Commonwealth Bank's London Office upon completion of settlement.

Please Note: All our phone calls are recorded and all verbal agreements over the phone will be honoured even if a signed hard-copy contract has not been received by the Commonwealth Bank's London Office.

Features:

• Amounts of GBP £50,000.00 and over can be locked into a Forward Contract
• By securing an exchange rate via a Forward Contract you are protected from downward movements in the foreign exchange market
• You will receive competitive rates of exchange

• A Forward Contract does not allow you to benefit from future fabourable exchange rate movements
• There can be a cost if the Forward Contract is terminated before the Delivery Date
• Your funds may not be available on the Delivery Date (when your funds are due to be send to ASB Bank to settle the Forward Contract),the Delivery Date can be extended for a fee

Example:

Mark Crawford wants to trade some funds at that day's current rate as it has increased considerably over the past few days. The proceeds from his property sale will not be available for 6 months; therefore he decides to enter into a Forward Contract. Mark rings the London office, he is identified by his relationship manager, who then reads Mark the contract terms and conditions over the phone and both parties agree on the contract transfer amount, forward exchange rate, and forward delivery and settlement date 6 months in the future. A confirmation contract is sent out in the mail which Mark signs and returns to the London office. 6 months later Mark receives the proceeds from his house sale, he transfers the funds to the Commonwealth Bank's London office for the agreed delivery date and 2-3 business days later his purchased currency is released to his account on the agreed settlement date.

Summary

The Rate-Watch Contract allows you to set a target rate for your funds to ensure you receive your desired exchange rate. The London office will monitor the rate on your behalf during our trading hours and if the rate hits your specified target during our trading hours we will send the funds across to Australia at your exact target rate.

Fees & Conditions:

Fees:

• Amendment Fee - GBP £15.00 per amendment to the target rate.

Conditions:

• You must have a transfer amount of over GBP £100,000.00 and above to set a Rate-Watch contract.
• Funds must be cleared and held with the Commonwealth Bank's London office to make use of this service. The exact agreed amount will be sent at the exact agreed rate, even if the rate climbs higher.

Please Note: All our phone calls are recorded and all verbal agreements over the phone will be honoured even if a signed hard-copy contract has not been received by the Commonwealth Bank's London Office.

Features:

• For amounts of GBP £100,000 and above, you can select a target rate at which to convert your funds.
• You can enter into a Rate-Watch Contract verbally over the phone, a confirmation letter is sent in the mail which needs to be signed and returned to the London office.

Example:

Karen Woods has a large savings amount of GBP £500,000.00 to be sent to Australia. She wants to make the most of these funds so she decides to setup a Rate-Watch Contract. Once she has transferred the funds to the London office, she rings her Relationship Manager, who identifies her over the phone. She agrees on a target rate and total transfer amount, and is read the terms & conditions of the contract over the phone. A confirmation contract letter is sent in the mail, which Karen signs and returns to the London office. Two months later the rate hits her target of 2.5 AUD to 1 GBP, Karen's funds are automatically sent across at the agreed amount of GBP £500,000.00 at exactly 2.5. Two business days later the funds are deposited into her Australian account.

Summary

The E-Rate email is an informative tool provided by the Commonwealth Bank's London office. It is sent out every business day morning at 9.30am, showing the market exchange rate of GBP/AUD at 9am that morning and the weekly highs and lows over the past 12 weeks. You can use this to keep an eye on the exchange rates, ensuring you are better informed about the currency market.

Fees & Conditions:

Fees:

• There are no fees or charges applied for making use of the E-Rate Email Service.

Conditions:

All new customers are signed up to the E-Rate email, you can opt out of this by clicking the unsubscribe option located at the bottom right-hand corner of the email. The rate shown on the E-Rate is the current market rate at 9.00am. This is an indicative rate, and does not indicate the exact rate the Commonwealth Bank's London office is trading at. For an exact quote please contact our office at +44 (0)20 7710 3990.

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