I just moved back to the US after living in London for three years. I opened a local Lloyds Bank account when I got there, but was advised by my accountant to

I just moved back to the US after living in London for three years. I opened a local Lloyds Bank account when I got there, but was advised by my accountant to be paid into an offshore account for tax purposes. This turned out to be surprisingly easy to do through Lloyds International, and was facilitated by the local banker though they have no direct access, they were able to get the Lloyds International bankers on the phone and verify my identity, etc. It's actually a very sweet setup because the online banking makes it seamless to transfer money between the accounts, so I can have all the convenience of local UK banking when I'm there, but all the convenience of the International Phone Bank with its extended hours and designed to be used by customers anywhere in the world. I'm not sure of all the implications for UK citizens, but if you spend a lot of time abroad I'd say its definitely worth looking into.