Are there NO 'safe' banks?

SusansHusband

I see today that the Government is having to pump even more of the taxpayers's cash into the banks. Is there not at least ONE bank somewhere who has run their business efficiently without exposing themselves to the global financial situation. I did think HSBC were fairly stable, but now even they seem to require an injection of cash.

bubblesbonbon

Good question.

I doubt if there are any 100% safe banks out there but if you compare different institutions exposure to risky debt then the Co-op (smile) seem to be better placed than most. Short link here
http://www.e-banking.co.uk/news/2008/Sep/co-operative-bank-report-increase-in-profits.html

However, they do not pay headline interest rates but they are backed by a pretty large mutual organisation.

soulsaver

Well there may have been... but one of the problems Japan faced was that it kept forcing solvent banks to merge with the risky ones, thus taking on that risk. As we have done, too.
So Lloyds appeared pretty safe until 'incentivised' to take on HBoS, and to a lesser extent the Nationwide appreared pretty safe but had to subsume risky minnows Cheshire BS & Derbyshire BS.
If property values continue to implode even the more prudent institutions will find themselves with loans secured by lower value asssets. As they could with businesses, too.So what appears safe today may not look so good if there are a lot of repossessions that create huge write offs.

Blah99

If you are a retail depositor, all the big banks are "safe". There is absolutely no way the Government will allow any of them to close their doors, simple as that. If you're a shareholder, though, it's a different story.

Mike1989

I suppose Northern Rock would be classed as the safest bank because it is nationalised. Then RBS with that large stake holding, then whichever bank comes next in the list, then Yorkshire Bank, Barclays and HSBC. As if you are putting money into a bank, then you have nothing to worry about putting it into a state owned bank or partly owned bank. As I said in the other thread, if the day comes were RBS went under, then the likelihood is that the whole banking sector would be gone. As RBS is near enough state owned as it is, with it soon to raise to 70% owned.

So if you have less than 50k in savings, you are safe generally wherever you go.

I,_Brian

It's only the shareholders at risk, really - RBS and Lloyds have government backing, Barclays has turned to middle east capital, HSBC is still standing far better than any other bank, and then there are others such as Co-op, Nationwide, and the Post Office.

I think the government has made it plain savings will be safe. Share prices, on the other hand...

ghostbusters

Does the goverment actually say that money above £50,000 in Northern Rock is safe.. I was looking at putting together my house deposit in northern rock (more than £50,000) but I couldn't find any reference to to compensation levels.. Any links available would be appreciated.. Thanks

withnell

ghostbusters wrote: »

I was looking at putting together my house deposit in northern rock (more than £50,000) but I couldn't find any reference to to compensation levels.

I'm sure there's something in one of Martin's savings guides about NR being fully covered.

Alternatively why not use a couple of accounts with other institutions and take advantage of better rates with 100% protection also? (Just keep each under 50k)

simon_templar_2

SusansHusband wrote: »

I see today that the Government is having to pump even more of the taxpayers's cash into the banks. Is there not at least ONE bank somewhere who has run their business efficiently without exposing themselves to the global financial situation. I did think HSBC were fairly stable, but now even they seem to require an injection of cash.

Santander has had none of the toxic debts like other banks. Q3 profits were up 695 million Euros. You never hear 'banking crisis', 'need govt bailout' about Santander.

tuggy12

Blood Banks should be pretty safe.
But then if Clown Brown hears they contain liquid assets he may just decide to raid them also

simon_templar_2

What about sperm banks? What protection have they got?