Is ICICI Bank safer than Anglo Irish Bank....?

msquandary

Hi there,

Just interested to get people's views on this - ICICI and Anglo Irish are listed as the two top accounts in Martin's "Top Paying Accounts" section, but only ICICI carries the warning "Important - some questions about stability". However because ICICI is a ull UK subsidiary albeit of a foreign bank, deposits are covered in full by the UK compensation scheme.

In comparison, Anglo Irish is covered by the Irish Government, and ING (who also have a good account) are covered by the Dutch Government.

Just curious as to how to judge this, does this mean that really, although ICICI is actually a less 'stable' institution my money is actually ultimately safer there than in the other two?

I'm asking because I have £50k from a property sale and I'm looking for somewhere to tie it up - 1 year Fix ideally - and I've become pretty cautious about all this having just narrowly escaped being badly burned on the property decision (I'm a luckly soul who managed to reverse my mistake, albeit took a loss...)

Grateful for any comments on this!

gonzouk

I wouldn't go with either just for the sake of a little extra interest - Anglo is supposedly rumoured to be on the brink of collapse and the workings of Irelands guarantee isn't exactly looking cast iron. ING, while being much stronger financially, would put you in the same position as Icesave if it happened to go down and there is no absolute guarantee UK investors would be covered. ICICI is probably best bet out of the three, with you having the FSA guarantee BUT there have been plenty of rumours about it being unstable so you would lose upto 3 months interest if it did happen to go down.

I really wouldn't gamble on 50k given the unpredictability of the market at the moment and i'd put it in a UK bank, at least for say the next 6 months.

msquandary

Hi Gonzouk

Thanks, I appreciate your reply. NS&I currently have a fixed rate bond for 1 year at 4.2% which seems to be the best deal available from the 'safe' banks. Your reply definitely resonates with my cautious side and I know what you mean, in the current surprise-a-minute climate it probably pays to be 'safe'.

On the other hand I wondered if I was just being too cautious by avoiding the foreign banks.... guess I'm not going to lose any sleep if I have it in NS&I...

....be interesting to know what other people think...

sabretoothtigger

icici is indian isnt it

Baldur

There are slightly better rates available from UK banks/building societies - http://www.moneyfacts.co.uk/money/savings/1/short-term-fixed-rate-bonds.aspx

Personally, I'd go for the 4.5% Capital Millennium Bond from Julian Hodge Bank, as I have had several accounts with them over the years & have always found them to be very good - it all depends if you want the 'absolute' security of NS&I.

Baldur

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

icici is indian isnt it

The parent bank is but the UK operation is FSA authorised and fully covered by the FSCS.

msquandary

Baldur wrote: »

Personally, I'd go for the 4.5% Capital Millennium Bond from Julian Hodge Bank, as I have had several accounts with them over the years & have always found them to be very good - it all depends if you want the 'absolute' security of NS&I.

Thanks for that Baldur. I hadn't come across Julian Hodge Bank on my search... and have certainly never heard of them! Am busy taking a look at their website now. Am definitely not hung up on NS&I - on the other hand there is the option of withdrawing part of the capital early in the event I needed to - whereas with Julian Hodge when they say 1 year they really mean it...!

I guess you also feel that ICICI are worth avoiding for the potential hassle factor, even though my savings would be protected...?

cocktail

msquandary wrote: »

Thanks for that Baldur. I hadn't come across Julian Hodge Bank on my search... and have certainly never heard of them! Am busy taking a look at their website now. Am definitely not hung up on NS&I - on the other hand there is the option of withdrawing part of the capital early in the event I needed to - whereas with Julian Hodge when they say 1 year they really mean it...!

I guess you also feel that ICICI are worth avoiding for the potential hassle factor, even though my savings would be protected...?

have considered spreading the money between 2 or 3 of these accounts paying good interest rates.

Baldur

msquandary wrote: »

I guess you also feel that ICICI are worth avoiding for the potential hassle factor, even though my savings would be protected...?

I currently have a few fixed rate accounts with ICICI (and have for years) - never had any problems and personally have no concerns about them - again, your choice is down to your personal level of acceptable risk.

msquandary

cocktail wrote: »

have considered spreading the money between 2 or 3 of these accounts paying good interest rates.

Hi Cocktail. Yes I had, that is also one option. I'm just put off by the amount of paperwork and chasing up I think its going to generate - especially having read some comments on here about problems opening new accounts..... I also don't want to miss out on the rates as I do fear they all might go down pretty quick if there's a 1% cut tomorrow ... am considering it though....

ShelleyC_2

I have money with ICICI. I withdrew my money from ING (after being moved from Kaupthing) as wanted everything to be in FSA registered system rather than any passport schemes.

I have my money evenly spread over 5 banks and premium bonds. If any one fails I'd still have access to a good proportion of my funds if needed! If they all fail I'll do my job in return for food offerings!!