Best Place for my savings now?

EagerLearner · 9 October 2008 at 8:37AM

Like many others I am now looking to save into a safer haven, whilst waiting for my money back re IceSave.

I somehow need to find all the money for my tax bill all over again, before end of January - unless the IceSave money comes through.

So my options are Bradford and Bingley, ICICI or First Direct as I already have accounts with them. BB and FD are my preferred options as at least they are UK based and my confidence has been shattered.

So every penny we can put aside, we will, to cover the tax bill. Any advice re the above most appreciated as I know nothing about the fundamentals of Santander vs HSBC. :T

apt · 9 October 2008 at 8:51AM

It's up to you to decide, but from an interest rate perspective Egg - easy access, but 6.3% fixed for a year - looks attractive. It has a big bank behind it - Citibank - but of course that does link it to the American financial system. If you want to stay purely British YBS internet saver has paid a consistent rate (5.7% but will drop) and comes with a Link card.

EagerLearner · 9 October 2008 at 8:56AM

Thanks Apt - although I was thinking to stick with the companies I already have an account with really - Santander and HSBC *seem* to be massive global trustworthy banks, but in these uncertain times, I would be curious to see if anyone had negative comments about either one?

MadSage · 9 October 2008 at 9:00AM

One measurement of how safe banks are is to look at the CDS ratings. See this article for more info and ratings from October 6th:

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/your-money/2008/10/07/spot-banks-before-they-go-bust.aspx

The higher the rating, the more risky they are. The Icelandic banks had a rating well over 1000 on October 2nd! I'm not sure where I got these, but this is a list from October 2nd:

Kaupthing Edge 1842
Landsbanki (Icesave) 1674
ICICI Bank 564
Britannia 335
Nationwide 280
HBOS 278
RBS 273
Barclays 234
Bank of Ireland 163
Lloyds TSB 161
ING 153
Santander(A&L,Abbey,B&B)105
HSBC 97

Ratings change constantly. After announcements from the government yesterday, the ratings of many UK banks reduced. Here are some from around midday yesterday:

HBOS 198
RBS 197
Barclays 128
Lloyds TSB 102

[Source: Bloomberg]

uk_steve · 9 October 2008 at 9:00AM

Royal Bank Of Zimbabwa looks a good bet:beer:

EagerLearner · 9 October 2008 at 9:11AM

Thanks MadSage that is a useful link - looks like HSBC and B&B are fairly low on the list - which is about as much reassurance as anyone will get right now... is there anywhere I can check more up to date figures on CDS ratings?

MadSage · 9 October 2008 at 9:24AM

EagerLearner wrote: »

is there anywhere I can check more up to date figures on CDS ratings?

I keep asking myself the same question. I've found numerous sites which list some of them, but I'm still not sure where they get their information. Googling for credit default swap ratings a bit later today may show up a list somewhere. I'll keep looking for the ultimate source

opinions4u · 9 October 2008 at 9:25AM

Anything British - and keep it under the compensation limit just in case.

~Chameleon~ · 9 October 2008 at 9:53AM

I've been wondering exactly the same thing over the last few days.

I have an Egg Savings account paying 6.30% which I'm hoping is "safe" as that's where the bulk of my "stooze" money is held so I'll keep that where it is for now.

I also have a few hundred pounds in KE, which I believe is now owned by ING, but will wait to see what happens with that as I'm not sure if they're merging the accounts or keeping them separate (also have ING savings lol)

As to the money I had in Icesave, I think I need to look for a new ISA and fixed term savings account to replace those but not yet sure where to go or whether its best to wait until we get our money back

EagerLearner · 9 October 2008 at 10:07AM

Hi Chameleon, my stooze money was an issue too - I had it with ICICI but it is winging it's money to me now, hence my original q, as the safest place is now where I plan to put the stooze cash as I really, really couldn't handle having all that to pay off... I have even thought of paying off the credit card now, not to worry about it. However, it's worth around £90 to me to keep it in a savings account rather than pay off.

AdamC_2 · 9 October 2008 at 11:49AM

I'm moving 90% of my savings into Northern Rock. If I sit down and do the calculations, even if it's 1% less than the market leader, for the next 2 or 3 months the peace of mind it gives me is worth it.

I may chase rates in the future but only with what I see as 'proper' banks - i.e. no ICICI, Firstbank, Icelandic banks etc. etc. (my uneducated-gut-feeling view)

Best Place for my savings now?

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