savings-is there anywhere safe?

kostigovs

Ever since the Northern Rock fiasco I have been trying to spread my wife's and my own savings around to ensure no more than £35k was with any one bank/building society.Since my wife is a high tax payer I tend to put everything in my name

I have some money with the Derbyshire Building Society and last week opened an account with the Cheshire.

Lo and behold it is announced today that Nationwide is taking over these 2 societies and whilst I've no money with the Nationwide the 2 separate accounts with Derbyshire and Cheshire total over the maximum reimbursement level of £35K.

Now I don't know whether these 2 societies will keep separate FSA registration numbers and if they do that is OK but it makes you wonder just what is happening in the financial world and whether you can deposit your hard earned savings anywhere with any degree of certainty or comfort

dunstonh

but it makes you wonder just what is happening in the financial world and whether you can deposit your hard earned savings anywhere with any degree of certainty or comfort

I wouldnt be so paranoid about the risk level.

kostigovs

dunstonh wrote: »

I wouldnt be so paranoid about the risk level.

I'm not paranoid just uncomfortable

Stavros_3

I have well over the FSA limit with the B & B and losing no sleep whatsoever. I am sick to death of the constant scaremongering regarding the uk bank industry. If George Dubya can bail out the 2 biggest mortgage lenders in the U.S, there is absolutely no way on this earth that Brown/Darling and co would let a UK bank go to the wall, it would be political suicide for them to have tens of thousands of investors queuing up outside banks again only to be told they have lost all their savings.......think about it.

ginvzt

Why not put everything in Northern Rock then and have your money guaranteed by the government if you are that worried?...

equitydealer

It might seem strange but Northern Rock is currently 100% safe, it being a nationalised bank.

I would not worry too much about any UK bank/building society going bust and whether it would hit depositors. The Government set a precedent with Northern Rock, it will step in and guarantee savings.

Think about this scenario - let's say Bradford & Bingley went bust tomorrow, do you think the Government would treat Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley customers differently?

It would be political suicide, Gordon Brown would be out of the door before the end of the day.

kostigovs

No way am I trying to be arrogant but in this day and age £35K is not an awful lot of money for some folk to have invested-and you don't need to be in the Rockefeller class to have it either.
Northern Rock scared a lot of folk and I was one of them with over £100K in their various accounts at the time. Little did I ever think that they were in danger even although I watched their shares fall on a daily basis. And no I did not have any of their shares.

Brown and Darling could reassure the nation till the cows come home but I bet you we would still see repeats of the Northern Rock scenes if a society or bank was reported as possibly being in trouble.

The raising of the compensation level to £50K should have been accelerated and I would argue for peace of mind it should be raised top a greater level

dunstonh

No way am I trying to be arrogant but in this day and age £35K is not an awful lot of money for some folk to have invested-and you don't need to be in the Rockefeller class to have it either.

35k is the deposit limit. Not the investments limit. Investments have two limits depending on tax wrapper.