Expat rates: savers do all rush for fixed rates at once And the five-year offshore rates compare very favourably with those on offer onshore. The top rate onshore is State Bank of India (UK) with 4.5pc, followed by 4.45pc from Secure Trust. The best rate from a high-street name is Clydesdale's 4.25pc, which is less than its subsidiary, Clydesdale International, pays offshore, although onshore the minimum deposit is £2,000, compared with £10,000 offshore. BM Savings has 4.2pc onshore for five years and Halifax 4.1pc. Both of these are part of the Lloyds Banking Group - which of course includes Lloyds TSB International - which pays 4.4pc offshore. At the other end of the scale, very short-term fixed rates may too be repriced soon if an interest-rate fall is even a remote possibility. The Irish-owned expatriate banks have cornered this particular market. The best sub-one year fixed rate is Permanent Bank International's 3.11pc for nine months. Fixed for six months, Permanent has 2.92pc, or Bank of Ireland (IOM) 2.77pc. With very short-term fixed rates, it's important to know what will happen to your money when the deal matures as you don't want your money sitting in a low-paying easy- access account for a long time once the fixed-rate period expires. Both Bank of Ireland (IOM) and Permanent Bank roll over your money when its matured on a short-term fixed rate to whatever the comparable deal is when their money matures. If savers don't want this to happen, they need to tell the bank so it can make alternative arrangements. Eastern promise HSBC Expat customers can now look East with their finances: they can have their deposit denominated in the renminbi. HSBC is the first Channel Islands-based bank to offer this currency option to its savers and banking customers. HSBC Expat already offers other currencies, from the euro and dollar to the zloty and shekel. The reason for offering the renminbi, the Chinese currency, is that it has been reasonably stable in recent years.