alliance and leicester e saver rate 6.56%

alanq

Kaupthing Edge is operated by Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander a UK company that is owned by an Icelandic Bank and is fully UK regulated. Isn't it just as British as a UK company owned by a Spanish bank that is fully UK regulated?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/safe-savings#foreign

Steve_xx

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Whilst I get your point, Steve, no, it's not. It will still be a British bank, regulated by the FSA and subject to the British FSCS, just with Spanish ownership.

That's different to something like Kaupthing or Icesave, which are not British banks in any sense.

Any bank that operates and takes deposits in this country is subject to FSA regulation, isn't it?

Alliance & Leicester, like Abbey before it, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Santander. Therefore it follows that essentially the bank is a Spanish bank.

MarkyMarkD

alanq Thanks for your comment and for educating me. Your point is quite right. But Kaupthing are doubtless significantly less financially secure than Santander which is one of the biggest banks in the world.

Steve_xx Martin's article (referenced by alanq) states that it's possible for foreign banks to operate in this country without being FSA regulated. But that doesn't apply to the banks I was referring to.

I don't agree with you that just because a UK bank is Spanish owned makes it a Spanish bank. And as per my response to alanq, I think that it's rather academic as Santander is one of the biggest banks in the world and the chances of it failing are significantly less than the chances of A&L failing on a stand-alone basis (which were, themselves, IMHO, very small).

Steve_xx

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

alanq And as per my response to alanq, I think that it's rather academic as Santander is one of the biggest banks in the world and the chances of it failing are significantly less than the chances of A&L failing on a stand-alone basis (which were, themselves, IMHO, very small).

I'm not sure how you arrive at the conclusion that it wont become a Spanish bank if it's wholly owned by Banco Santander. But I guess that isn't important.

MarkyMarkD

In the same way that I don't think BAA is a Spanish company just because it's 100% Spanish owned.

A business which operates entirely in the UK isn't, IMHO, a Spanish company.

Ownership is far less important than other things.

nicko33

Steve_xx wrote: »

I'm not sure how you arrive at the conclusion that it wont become a Spanish bank if it's wholly owned by Banco Santander. But I guess that isn't important.

Depends how you look at it.

Is Man United an American football club because the owners have US passports?
Is Vauxhall an American car manufacturer?
Is BT a British company? I'm sure lots of foreigners own parts of it.
How do you determine the nationality of a plc? Average out the shareholders? Does something only have a nationality when there is only 1 owner?

If I buy an "American" car, and import it from the US, does it become a "British" car because it is now wholly owned by a British person?

MarkyMarkD

Thanks for the further examples, nicko, which I think reinforce my point pretty well. Ownership doesn't change the nationality of something in normal perception.

Steve_xx

Alliance & Leicesters' shares will no longer be quoted on the London exchange. Therefore it will become Spanish. Whether people here perceive it that way or not, it will still become Spanish.

MarkyMarkD

That's weak logic, Steve_xx. There are lots of UK-based and UK-operating companies which aren't listed on the UK stock exchange.