OFFSHORE banks have again been raided by HM Revenue and Customs A Financial Times report said four high street banks were being forced to hand over about 100,000 offshore account details to UK authorities.

HMRC expects accounts held at HSBC, HBOS, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB to yield more than £275m. in unpaid UK tax owed by residents hiding money offshore.

But Guernsey finance experts believe the industry will survive this latest threat.

‘It’s not having a depreciable effect and it’s not putting people off Guernsey’s private banking sector,’ said GuernseyFinance chief executive Peter Niven.

The move by HMRC follows a special commissioner ruling to search records for information on UK-domiciled individuals who have undeclared money in offshore centres. While it is legal for them to hold offshore accounts, it is illegal to hide from the Revenue the interest earned.

Mr Niven did not believe there was a great deal of such business remaining on the island.

More than £1.5bn in unpaid tax was expected from accounts held at Barclays after a similar ruling in April.

‘I think it’s interesting that the latest batch of figures is much lower than the amount they expected to claim from Barclays.

‘What they intended to bring in from Barclays has not come to fruition. Feedback from the industry is that it hasn’t affected business and we are seeing increases in deposits quarter on quarter.’

Bank deposits reached a record £87.48bn at the end of the last quarter.

Ernst & Young tax partner Graham Parrott said the claims by the Revenue were probably overstated and believed it could be timed to coincide with a possible tax amnesty.

‘It could be a stick saying we have the details of offshore accounts, then a possible carrot, which would be the amnesty,’ he said.

‘I think the issue here, as well as actual damage from money moving, is also the damage of perception, especially as the island has worked very hard to create a place where they don’t do this.’

Association of Guernsey Banks chairman Alan Bougourd said it should come as no surprise to UK clients with offshore accounts.

He did not think the exposure would tarnish the island’s image.

‘The amount expected to be recovered from the four banks is considerably less than for the one bank mentioned,’ he said.

‘For many years we have been explaining to clients the importance of making declarations to tax authorities and this reinforces it.’

KPMG senior tax manager Anthony Tenant said the move marked a further increase in the amount of information held by HMRC on UK-resident and domiciled individuals with offshore bank account details for which interest was not being declared.

‘Although one would hope in today’s environment that the volume of such accounts is minimal, it is apparent that HMRC think there is a significant number,’ he said.

‘Any proposals outlined in the Financial Times for a process to encourage affected individuals to come forward are very interesting and we await any formal announcement with considerable interest.’