Kaupthing & Icesave: MoneySavingExpert.com Official Note

midflight

When (not if) the money comes back can we put it into a new ISA or do we start from scratch with a new ISA and lose tax free status on the money we have built up?

Sadly, nobody seems to know, at the moment

My advice to anyone currently holding Icelandic investments (either as a result of Martin's recommendations or otherwise), is to consider getting all of your money back your main concern. If it happens to come back with its tax-free wrapper status still intact, then consider that a bonus...

These are truly awful times, and I wish everyone the best of luck.

From now on I can see the disclaimers on this site ending up bigger than the articles themselves!

wend33

FSCS website:

http://www.fscs.org.uk/consumer/

Head of Claims is on Sky news at the moment saying that they are talking to their Icelandic counterparts but it has not yet defaulted. If it does they will contact british savers

wend33

FSCS gears up to assist Icesave's UK branch customers


In the light of the current uncertainties, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is today gearing up in case it needs to assist approximately 300,000 savers at Icesave.
Icesave is the UK branch of Landsbanki Islands hf (trading here under the registered name Icesave). It is an EEA bank that is authorised by the Fj!rm!laeftirlitið (FME), the financial services regulator in Iceland. The Financial Services Authority in the UK has reported that Icesave is now expected to go into insolvency proceedings in Iceland and this would trigger an FSCS default.
Eligible savers with Icesave are protected by the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund (IDIGF), up to a limit of the first 20,887 euros of their deposits. As an Icelandic bank Icesave is not automatically a member of the FSCS, but it opted to become a 'top-up' member. This means that eligible retail savers with Icesave's UK branch whose savings exceed the Icelandic limit would benefit from top-up compensation from the FSCS covering the amount over the Icelandic limit up to the new FSCS compensation limit for deposits of £50,000.
If the default is triggered as expected, FSCS will contact all UK savers directly with details of how to apply for compensation. Further announcements will follow and we will keep this page updated.
Please watch our website for more information or call our helpline on 0845 7300131.

lesleystrawson

I suppose what frustrates my husband and myself is that we have spent all of our working lives doing 'the right thing'. OH spent a number of years investing heavily in his pension - with Equitable Life.:eek: Now we have just recently started saving in Isa's, and that has now fallen on it's head (though hopefully not so spectacularly).

We are lucky to have no debt and a small mortgage. My heart goes out to those people for whom their investments in Icesave mean real problems in the short/longterm.

And by the way, I do not blame Martin for any of my possible losses with Icesave. I am a grown adult with a brain who can read the small print for myself.

Anyone recommend a good quality home safe??

Lesley

baby_boomer

lesleystrawson wrote: »

Anyone recommend a good quality home safe??

Yes.

Unfortunately it doesn't come with the 5.7% inflation proofing formerly provided by the Icesave .

Former_MSE_Dan

Hi folks,

We have had a Treasury statement on the safety of cash in icesave - and the following has been added into the Safe Savings article. The really important bit is in bold

STOP PRESS. Updated 17.30 Tue 7 Oct. Icesave temporarily stops withdrawals.

Icesave is reported to have gone into technical receivership, meaning its assets have been taken over by the Icelandic government and it has effectively been nationalised (like Northern Rock was), see this FT article.

We’re constantly speaking to Icesave, the Treasury and the FSCS to monitor the situation. All updates will appear here and be included in the free weekly email.

While the bank has stopped withdrawals, that doesn’t mean it is now bust, though at best its probably a 50-50 likelihood. Here are the crucial points.

• The bank is still operational.
• No compensation arrangements have been triggered (this only happens if the bank isn’t still operational).
• If compensation arrangements are triggered it will therefore have been after the new £50,000 level introduced today.
• All UK savers are thus protected up to £50,000 per person in Icesave (£100,000 for joint accounts).
• The first €20,000 (this may’ve been upped to €50,000 on some reports of a European meeting today) will come from the Icelandic compensation scheme.
• If a claim were needed, it will probably involve filling out just one form to the FSCS, you would not have to write to Iceland.
• If you have money in a cash ISA, whether you would be able to keep the ISA status isn’t yet clear. However after Northern Rock, the government ensured all ISA savers kept their status, even those who’d withdrawn money, so it is very likely.

As for the strength of the Icelandic compensation scheme, there are reports, yet to be 100% confirmed, that the Icelandic government is promising to ensure all necessary compensation will be met and it will fund the scheme. Either way the Scandanavian countries have a reciprocal deal to protect the compensation schemes, so that should make it safe.

We spoke to the Treasury this morning about whether, in the very unlikely event of the Icelandic scheme not being able to cover its obligation of the first, would it step in and make sure UK savers were covered for the whole £50,000?

Late this afternoon it finally called to say "The UK government is working with the Icelandic government to protect UK savings up to £50,000", and we're hoping for more soon. We interpret this to mean that over and above that level, it's up to the Icelandic government

However, there is no FINAL answer, discussions are ongoing and this article will be updated as soon as anything further is decided. For more info, read my full blog.

anjnap

Hi
I have money tied up with Kaupthing Edge for a 12 month and 6 month FIXED period. Can anyone tell me if they have been able to withdraw money from these accounts today as I have tried and have been unsuccessful?

This info on this link puts alot of doubt in my mind about Kaup's future......
http://financialdevelopment.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/why-is-kaupthing-edge-still-in-business/

Also do we just wait for compensation forms from the FCIS inorder to claim our money back from our Ice Save accounts or is there a quicker way?
thanks
Anj

Verbatim

I signed up to transfer my icesave cash ISA yesterday to a NatWest one. I don't suppose NatWest did the deed in time.

I feel awful having recommended both my daughter and husband to take out icesave ISAs after reading the info here. I was under the impression that they came under the protection of the usual UK guarantees but it seems not.

Paul_O'Kshields

Hillfly wrote: »

I wonder if anyone could shed some light on my concern. I transferred all my funds from ICEsave via Chaps yesterday afternoon.
The funds have processed out of my ICESAVE account leaving me with a zero balance and have yet to arrive in my UK account.

Given todays developments any idea how I can find out where my money is? ICESAVE are uncontactable at the moment due to everyone phoning them. The receiving bank have yet to receive funds.

Assuming the worst case and my funds are not transferred to my UK account, but given that ICESAVE has frozen all deposits where will my money be? I understand normally funds are just returned to the source account - will this be possible?

I suspect no on ewill be able to answer this but if someone with detailed CHAPS knowledge could comment I would feel a little easier!

Thanks.

I'm in a similar situation, having made a BACS transfer from my Easy Access :rolleyes:Cash ISA and Easy Access :rolleyes::rolleyes:saver Icesave to my current account after watching a worrying report about Icesave on Channel Four News last night. The funds only total about £6k, so I know they would be covered by existing compensation schemes, but I need ready access to it and can't afford for it to be frozen while the dust settles on the Icesave debacle.

I realise a BACS transfer will take 3-4 days to clear. Is it likely that my cash will have done an Indiana-Jones style spectacular forward roll and just made it out under the descending door of the vault at Icesave before the thing clanged definitively shut at some point this morning?

My Icesave account statement online now shows that the cash has been transferred out - but I'm worried about Icesave somehow managing to claw the cash back out of the ether. If anyone with detailed knowledge of BACS can shed any light on this I'd be grateful.


PS: Thanks to Martin and the MSE crew for a lot of helpful advice over the years. Ignore those shooting the messenger cos they don't like the message. It seems the rulebook is being torn up on an almost hourly basis in the financial services industry at the moment.

dougz_2

dunstonh wrote: »

If you want to cut out the individuals that are liable for advice to get a better deal then you need to accept the risks and consequences that go with that.

Are you suggesting that if a financial adviser had told me that icesave had a best buy savings account, then I would now have the opportunity of some additional compensation, compared to finding the same thing out myself from comparison sites like this?