Banks, Brokers, &c (transfer, to buy, income)

[OldChina]

Are financial institutions friendlier for the retail client in some countries than in others? Or are they mostly much the same nowadays? I'm focusing here on foreign exchange facilities. And, ideally, they should be as comprehensive, easy, and affordable for the private as for the corporate or financial customer. Now, where's the competition?

[OldChina]

However, in some countries exchange-control is extant. But in those in which it's extinct, these services seem to be getting ever more expensive. And so, I'd like to know whether I'm consulting the right banks or broking house. I'm trying to offer Sterling to bid for US $ now

[OldChina]

I'm discouraged from dealing by the width of the spread that a British bank, or, to a lesser extent, a stockbroker, will quote on, say, the spot Dollar/Sterling rate. For an amount of, say, the average annual income or over, what used to be about 1.5 US cents, and sometimes with some flexibility, has widened to 6 or 7 Cents, but with no flexibility! And when I called the Bank of England about this abuse, I was told that I should take my observation to the Financial Conduct Authority. But on contacting that body, I was told that it did not deal with forex matters, and that I might do better to contact the BoE again. Again I was offered no help. Meanwhile, customers are being deprived of 1000 currency-units for each two cents by which a spread is widened on a 100 000 unit deal: and sometimes without being given even one side of that spread till after the event. Clearly this is not a forex matter, but one of business practice. Ideally, for a charge of, say, 40 currency units, the customer should be offered a single spot rate at which to buy or sell, and to have the transfer of the net proceeds covered by the same charge