Iceland sinking....

PasturesNew

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/moneybox/7650331.stm

The Icelandic government is seeking a loan from abroad to prop up its ailing economy. Despite its small size Iceland supports several large banks and more than 100,000 UK savers have put their money into its two biggest: Kaupthing and Landsbanki.

dean_ham

luvpump wrote: »

You are Clearly not familiar with Kaupthings T&C's, which state they can, should they choose to do so, "Novate" or transfer your funds from the u.k operation to Kaupthing HF, in which case the FSCS has no sway ! . & you would have to claim off the Icelandic version , Its for that reason I got out..

Is this the case or what?

As i have most of my house deposit savings in there - i thought all along it was covered upto £35k

codger

luvpump wrote: »

You are Clearly not familiar with Kaupthings T&C's, which state they can, should they choose to do so, "Novate" or transfer your funds from the u.k operation to Kaupthing HF, in which case the FSCS has no sway ! . & you would have to claim off the Icelandic version , Its for that reason I got out..

Gawd. Here we go again: selective excerpting of facts. In summary the position is:

1) Although UK savers will see Kaupthing Edge branding emblazoned all over the website when they log in, their accounts are actually managed by KE's British subsidiary.

2) The British subsidiary is 100% covered by the FSCS. Like any and every other UK bank. As of next Tuesday, the protected amount is a maximum of £50,000.

3) If KE went bust, including its UK subsidiary, KE savers would receive 100% compensation from the UK's own FSCS. Savers would have no involvement with, or interest in, Iceland's financial troubles at all.

4) The terms and conditions of KE's UK subsidiary clearly state that in the unlikely event that the subsidiary would wish to novate, then a minimum of 30 days notification will be issued.


I know the above text is lacking in drama but, er, that's actually the way it is. . .

luvpump

codger wrote: »

Gawd. Here we go again: selective excerpting of facts. In summary the position is:

1) Although UK savers will see Kaupthing Edge branding emblazoned all over the website when they log in, their accounts are actually managed by KE's British subsidiary.

2) The British subsidiary is 100% covered by the FSCS. Like any and every other UK bank. As of next Tuesday, the protected amount is a maximum of £50,000.

3) If KE went bust, including its UK subsidiary, KE savers would receive 100% compensation from the UK's own FSCS. Savers would have no involvement with, or interest in, Iceland's financial troubles at all.

4) The terms and conditions of KE's UK subsidiary clearly state that in the unlikely event that the subsidiary would wish to novate, then a minimum of 30 days notification will be issued.


I know the above text is lacking in drama but, er, that's actually the way it is. . .

You may have "30 days Notice" but depending on what type of account you have you may not be able to do anything about it !!... Great !! and also..

"Kaupthing Bank hf is an authorised bank in Iceland and is a member of the Icelandic Depositor Guarantee Fund. Its UK operations are authorised by the FSA, and it pays a levy to the FSCS. However, as Kaupthing Bank hf is not a UK firm it does not come under the direct control of the FSA.

Were Kaupthing Bank hf to be declared insolvent, the Icelandic fund would pay compensation up to its limit of €20,000. If a depositor’s loss were higher than this, the FSCS would pay the remainder up to our limits, as outlined above."
Yes the sooo reliable Icelandic Fund !! The truth is no one really knows how this is all going to pan out... not even you

pickles110564

mewbie wrote: »

Economic meltdown = Iceland sinking

I thought it was due to global warming!

mewbie_2

pickles110564 wrote: »

I thought it was due to global warming!

and that's why it's so hilariously funny. Because it innocently takes the phrases (which mean nothing to me being a bear of very little brain and still at school as you know) and puts them together in a pun. Or it could be a very precise statement on the cause and effect of the Icelandic crisis, using the two statements in a humorous conjunction. In fact sometimes I wonder if people think I am being more clever than I really am, and attribute an extra meaning to my silly jokes, that I had completely missed.

If I had said global warming = Iceland sinking then I would have been doing a Clarkson style joke ignoring the plight of the [strike]Eskimos[/strike] er Inuits and possibly polar bears. And I can't possibly do that due to my self styled right on saviour of the world persona, that actually bears no relation to the Top Gear watching funster I am in real life.

Sorry to any readers - unlike HIHM - I can do an hours worth of trolling in a single post rather than several hundred.

codger

luvpump wrote: »

You may have "30 days Notice" but depending on what type of account you have you may not be able to do anything about it !!... Great !! and also..

"Kaupthing Bank hf is an authorised bank in Iceland and is a member of the Icelandic Depositor Guarantee Fund. Its UK operations are authorised by the FSA, and it pays a levy to the FSCS. However, as Kaupthing Bank hf is not a UK firm it does not come under the direct control of the FSA.

Were Kaupthing Bank hf to be declared insolvent, the Icelandic fund would pay compensation up to its limit of €20,000. If a depositor’s loss were higher than this, the FSCS would pay the remainder up to our limits, as outlined above."
Yes the sooo reliable Icelandic Fund !! The truth is no one really knows how this is all going to pan out... not even you

Thanks for the text in quotation marks above.

Quite why I, as a UK saver with my money on deposit with registered UK financial services provider Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander should need to know arrangements relating to the financial institution you're referring to, escapes me.

As your post concludes with the assertion that "the truth is, no-one really knows how this is all going to pan out", perhaps the following, drawn as it is from the Kaupthing Edge UK website, might be of assistance at this time:

Question: Is My Money Safe?

Answer: Yes. Your money will be held by Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Ltd. Furthermore, your deposit will be protected under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which can pay compensation (currently up to £35,000) where a firm is unable to pay claims against it. For further details refer to www.fscs.org.uk.

Question: Do You Subscribe to the Banking Code?
Answer: Yes. Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Ltd has subscribed to the Banking Code for a number of years. For further information, refer to www.bankingcode.org.uk.

Question: I see in the terms and conditions that my deposit might in the future be with Kaupthing Bank, not Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Ltd. What would this mean for me?

Answer:
We have no intention of moving your deposit to Kaupthing Bank, and though in the unlikely event that we were to do so, we would give you at least 30 days notification.

If this did happen you would remain a Kaupthing Edge customer and your account number, details and call centre contacts would not change. Your money would remain safe, and protected up to exactly the same amount as the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme (which currently pays up to £35,000). The only material difference to you, would be the structure of the compensation itself, which would be provided by two schemes (sometimes referred to as a passport scheme):

• The first level of protection is provided under the Icelandic Depositors’ and Investors’ Guarantee Fund. The maximum protection under this scheme is 100% of the first €20,887 (or the sterling equivalent) of your total deposits held with us.
• The second level of protection is provided by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme. This scheme "tops-up" your protection so that the protection under both schemes is equal to 100% of the first £35,000 of your total deposits held with us.
• Under EU law compensation for any losses incurred due to the failure of a bank should be paid within three months - regardless of whether it is through a passport scheme or the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

---

There's no point in labouring this: anti-KE sentiment on this board has become downright wearying.

It's almost as if a paranoid desire exists in some quarters to deliberately encourage the loss of a highly competitive player in the UK marketplace -- as if, somehow, UK savers and UK consumers will somehow be better off if Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Ltd disappears from the scene as a result of a wholesale collapse of confidence.

But it's a shame if existing savers with an online KE account are frightened away from an excellent service provider, with excellent rates, because the waters are systematically muddied with talk of Kaupthing Bank -- a bank which does not hold any of the kind of savings which I and other MSErs have invested.

Kaupthing Edge's UK operation cannot make its position clearer:

1) We're a UK outfit
2) Your savings are covered just like any other UK bank
3) If we ever decide to cease to be a UK operation, we'll give you at least 30 days advance warning of that.

Far from "not knowing" how things will pan out, I actually have a very good idea indeed:

* either KE (UK) will soldier on, and I'll continue to enjoy excellent returns, and a superb level of service, OR:

* it won't soldier on and I'll get 100% of my money back , OR:

* it will give me a minimum of 30 days' advance warning of a fundamental change, during which time I'll close my account and shift my savings elsewhere.

There's no mystery in any of that. No complexity. So why pretend otherwise???

gomann

However ... I'm an offshore saver with KE in IoM.

£50K covered by £15K IoM scheme?
Or am I misinterpreting that?

lostinrates

codger wrote: »

.......Far from "not knowing" how things will pan out, I actually have a very good idea indeed:

* either KE (UK) will soldier on, and I'll continue to enjoy excellent returns, and a superb level of service, OR:

* it won't soldier on and I'll get 100% of my money back , OR:

* it will give me a minimum of 30 days' advance warning of a fundamental change, during which time I'll close my account and shift my savings elsewhere.

There's no mystery in any of that. No complexity. So why pretend otherwise???

As someone who closed their KE account I'd like to repond to that. I am not anti KE in the least. I explained my motivation, and stand by it- the impact of sentiment on bank liquidity concerned me. Furthermore, I have funds in both US dollars (:rolleyes: ) and Euros. I'm certainly not xenophobic -even in my banking choices! In fact, the accounts that stress me most are the sterling accounts. I'm actually getting very frustrated choosing the next option for my terling savings, the 'safety net' of NR no longer being there.

Generali

mewbie wrote: »

ignoring the plight of the [strike]Eskimos[/strike] er Inuits

According to QI the other night, Eskimo is the correct generic term. Inuit is a specific tribe or group.

No idea how this relates to house prices though.