offshore account guarantee

njj_2

I am english but live in France I have two offshore accounts and have today contacted them both to find out what guarantee I have on my savings - Bank of Scotland International based in Jersey (currently being taken over by Lloyds TSB) advised there is no guarantee as Jersey only guarantee for Jersey residents, and my other account Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander (ex Derbyshire offshore) based in Isle of Man advise 100% guarantee, first £15,000 by Isle of Man remainder by parent bank ie Kaupthing Bank, is this correct? Are my savings safe or should I move them? are there any other offshore accounts which allow me to bank in sterling with good interest rates and 100% guarantees?

gozomark

Bank of Scotland International based in Jersey (currently being taken over by Lloyds TSB) advised there is no guarantee as Jersey only guarantee for Jersey residents, and my other account Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander (ex Derbyshire offshore) based in Isle of Man advise 100% guarantee, first £15,000 by Isle of Man remainder by parent bank ie Kaupthing Bank, is this correct? yes

sunshine-days

Please check out the topic:

"Irish government guarantee bank deposits"

I have just left a post (number # 116) with regard to the IOM Anglo Irish bank website promise to guarantee 100% capital.

gozomark

but who provides the guarantee ? post 117 and 118

sunshine-days

With regard to the Bank of Ireland (IOM).

Last week, unlike the Anglo Irish Bank, they did not place anything on their website.

I cannot offer any proof, but on the telephone their offshore Guernsey office told me that their offshore bank was included.

Since there was nothing in writing on their website, I made further telephone enquiries in Ireland.

Eventually their head office telephoned me back to verify what the offshore branch had told me earlier in the day. ALL branches of their bank were (are) included in the government guarantee.

I have no reason to think that they were mistaken.

Even on their main Ireland website, it says nothing about the government guarantee. Same too for their UK website.

But, that doesn't mean that the government guarantee does not exist.

gozomark

doesn't mean that the government guarantee does not exist.

correct, but it doesn't mean it does either

I have no reason to think that they were mistaken.

you do if you read post 118 - it appears the bank jumped the gun

njj_2

thanks all for your information. I have just called the Anglo Irish Bank and they tell me that they should receive clarification on whether the Irish Goverment guarantee covers their offshore Isle of Man bank. This will be posted on (she thought the front page) their website within the next couple of days.

sunshine-days

"I have no reason to think that they were mistaken"

I was actually referring to my telephone conversations with the Head Office of the Bank of Ireland.

#118 is referring to the wording on the Anglo Irish Bank's website.

For what it is worth, I also spoke directly with the IOM Anglo Irish Bank, and they told me that their bank was definitely included. That was on Thursday or Friday, after the dust had settled a bit, and the notice had already been removed from the front page of their website. It was because the notice had disappeared that I telephoned them directly. I later noticed the wording on those inner pages, which seemed to be identical to the wording that had been displayed prominently on their front page earlier in the week.

....

Anyway, perhaps none of us will ever actually know the "real" truth, since so much money has poured in since then that perhaps the problem of those banks collapsing has been permanently averted, meaning that none of us will ever have to put them to the test.;)

And then we will all be happy, won't we?

gozomark

:beer: to that !

occamsrazor

That's pretty much the point of a 100% guarantee - the idea being if everyone feels safe enough to keep their money in, there won't be a run, and the guarantee will never actually need to be used. In Ireland's case because they acted quickly it's also probably caused a huge inflow of funds that have actually strengthened the banks.

miaviv

I too live in France and have quite a bit in the Bank of Scotland International based in the IOM. It was originally in Jersey but I transferred it to benefit from the small savings compensation scheme of £15K which is better than none at all in Jersey.
I can't sleep at night because all I hear is bad news about HBOS shares and how the proposed merger with Lloyds TSB is not a done deal and may yet be halted, I am not feeling confident with my bank anymore.

My account matures on 15th October and I am now wondering what to do with my money. I have looked at Abbey International based in Jersey and they have an apparent "guarantee" attached to their savings but I can't seem to get to the bottom of what this actually covers despite repeated requests via email for an explanation. Are they a better bank to trust my savings with ?

If the government announce a bail out package for UK banks tomorrow morning, are we all going to sleep easier at night I wonder ? I think there is a distinct lack of info around for the offshore savers amongst us.

On the note of Irish banks guaranteeing 100% of savings and their IOM subsidiaries - surely the only guarantee you would be able to seek is that offered by the IOM government regardless of the nationality of the bank, it is the soil upon which the bank is situated surely ? The same way the even if the UK govt now guarantee £50K in HBOS UK branches, I still won't get that if my IOM based bank goes into receivorship. I'd be happily corrected if anyone knows different.