Santander. Spanish economy in trouble?

Alarming to read BBC reports:

'The concerns about eurozone debt follow Monday's strongly-worded comments from the International Monetary Fund that the Spanish economy needs comprehensive and far-reaching reform.
That added to investors' worries over the weekend rescue of Spanish bank Cajasur by the Bank of Spain, only the second time the central bank has saved a regional lender.
Amid concerns over solvency in the sector, and in the wake of the Cajasur rescue, four Spanish savings banks then announced plans to merge.
Cajastur, Caja de Ahorros del Mediterraneo, Caja Extremadura and Caja Cantabria said they had reached agreement to form a group th
at would "strengthen solvency and assets of the participating banks".'

Santander may be bigger than these minor banks and our Government protect our savings. Do I sense a small whiff of Icesave all over again?

I am choosing to transfer my Santander ISA. A Spanish bank too risky at the moment.
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Comments

  • MoneySavingUser
    MoneySavingUser Posts: 1,667 Forumite
    I think the most important thing is the FSA protection - 50k for Santander/Abbey - and 50k for A+L (though this will end when it is fully merged into Santander soon)
  • barak
    barak Posts: 1,258
    Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    I think the most important thing is the FSA protection - 50k for Santander/Abbey - and 50k for A+L (though this will end when it is fully merged into Santander soon)
    According to my diary "soon" = this Friday 28th May 2010.

    I've just checked and found the following -
    [1]
    "However, if the Proposal becomes effective, from the
    Effective Date the money you have in your Alliance & Leicester
    account(s) will be aggregated with that which you hold in your
    Santander account(s). As a consequence, you would only be
    entitled to recover up to a maximum of £50,000 (or £100,000
    in the case of joint accounts) from the FSCS."

    [2]
    "
    Alliance & Leicester has been part of the Santander Group since 2008. On 13 May 2010 the High Court of Justice granted a Court Order approving the transfer of Alliance & Leicester's business into Santander UK plc (the "Transfer"). Under the terms of the Court Order the Transfer will become effective at 00.01 hours on 28 May 2010."

    The MSE guide has already been updated.
    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/safe-savings?dd
    ".....where it is corrupt, purge it....."
  • juicyjude
    juicyjude Posts: 670 Forumite
    How do others feel about the safety of Santander atm. I would be interest to hear other peoples comments thanks
  • Bob_the_Saver
    Bob_the_Saver Posts: 5,610 Forumite
    Any company with their standard of customer service would worry me!
  • juicyjude
    juicyjude Posts: 670 Forumite
    What customer service? Dont think they have any do you?
  • armour
    armour Posts: 311 Forumite
    I've got a flexible mortgage with Santander atm & I was thinking of putting significantly moore than 50K in the savings pot - should I think again?
  • MoneySavingUser
    MoneySavingUser Posts: 1,667 Forumite
    I doubt they will go bust or if they did that you wouldn't get everything back

    But if the tiny risk that things go awry happened and people lose out do you really want to take that chance?
  • MiserlyMartin
    MiserlyMartin Posts: 2,235
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Any company with their standard of customer service would worry me!

    I recommend everyone withdraws their money from them due to their extremely poor branch service and non -existant unmanned complaints line. Plus they might go bust...
  • verntern
    verntern Posts: 247 Forumite
    I agree with all the negative comments about Santander. Pathetic customer service with unanswered phone calls and, if you do get through, no precise or knowledgable information about your query or concern.
    Reality. After Greece, the Spanish and Portuguese economies are tottering. Maybe your Santander savings are protected by FSA guarantees. Nevertheless, if Santander fail then it will be a long and arduous process to get your money back. Once again, the return from the higher interest rates from the Santander ISA are negligible when related to security and peace of mind. My choice is to request an ISA transfer pack from Nationwide.
  • juicyjude
    juicyjude Posts: 670 Forumite
    If you get a transfer pack from Nationwide though, just a slight bit of information which may help you. I am still trying to transfer my Bradford and Bingley(Santander) ISA to Nationwide after nearly 8 weeks!
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