i would NOT recommend HSBC. they are extremely expensive (very high transaction charges
and very high fee structures), and their customer service has to be the worst i have ever
experienced with a bank. I was living in Brussels, and it took them over two
months to post a web-banking pin to me, which never did work.
In the end, i closed my account with them.

i would check out local banks, see what the restrictions are on moving funds
across borders (and fees), see if they'll let you hold multi-currency accounts if you
need them, see if they offer services in your preferred language (doing your banking
in a language you don't understand is a bugger).

also check out what they charge for day-to-day banking. For example, do they charge
you for atm withdrawals, for atm withdrawals from other banks, for over-the-counter
transactions, etc etc.

just stay away from HSBC!