The Nationwide International website has an announcement that they are to close next year.  This is a real problem.  There are very few offshore banks that have a reasonable minimum deposit - and goodness knows for how much longer they'll stay open.  And it's now utterly impossible (without lying) for a non-resident to open a UK bank account.  What options (if any) are now open to expats wanting to hold Sterling anywhere other than Thailand?

(For me, it's important that the bank is part of the BACS network to reduce transaction charges, so places such as Singapore aren't a good option.)