Offshore Banking - AIB- Safe ??

jackas

Hi there,
i have an offshore bank account with the Anglo Irish Bank in the IOM and was under the impression that funds under 50-k are protected ,however i have just read this on another website and i am now not sure what to think can anyone shed some more light please as i am not totally up to speed with all of this :-

OFFSHORE BANKING :-

Are there any disadvantages? The main disadvantage of offshore savings accounts is that they are not covered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme . Whilst unlikely, the Northern Rock crisis highlighted that banks can suffer financial difficulties. Even though many of the offshore savings account providers are household names, the protection on offer is different to UK based savings accounts as the depositor rules are based upon where your money is held. This is an important consideration given that offshore savings are typically associated with larger deposit balances.

Regards,
Jackas

fairtrade

Not covered by UK compensation but is covered by IOM compensation. Find out more here:-
http://www.angloirishbank.co.im/Personal_Savings/Help_Guides/How_Safe_is_my_Money/

jackas

So is this still considered safe ? i understand everything over 50k is only guaranteed until sept 2010 at this stage , i am on the other side of the world at the moment and its all very confusing

Porcupine

IMHO the IOM scheme isn't worth the paper it's written on. It's based on a fixed levy across all banks trading in the IOM, so it may take many years to get your money back. When KSF IOM went under there was lots of governmental faffing around and acting like rabbits in headlights before this guarantee was brought in. So it's best to assume that the guarantee isn't there, because IOM is a very small place and there's not much it can do if a bank falls over.

The Irish scheme, to the extent that I've looked at it, is more trustworthy. So it depends on how you rate Ireland's chances of being able to cope with a banking collapse. In any case, likely to be much better than IOM.

jackas

anyone else have an opinion on this ? feedback would be good as i already have money here,
regards,
Jackas

njstone9

I also have money in Anglo Irish International (IOM). I read news yesterday in the telegraph that the bank was intending to scale down its operations.

I have £13,000 there (my pitiful life savings so far) and I don't really trust that if the bank failed I would get it back from the IOM government. How on earth could they cover it?

On the other hand, I don't know what else I can do. I can't open a UK-based bank which would be properly protected because I'm non-resident (I'm working in Singapore). I have searched for many, many hours for accounts which don't require me to be resident. There simply aren't any.

Other offshore accounts are also unattractive either in their terms, or also in the lack of faith I have in the IOM government to bail them out.

The only offshore account I have found is one from Nationwide, also in the IOM, but guaranteed by its parent bank. That though is a fixed 1 year bond for only 2.05%, compared to the instant access variable 2.9% (but presumably likely to go up in the future) I get with Anglo Irish.

I don't know what to do.

jackas

Ok so kind of getting a mixed reaction here guys and girls the word i got from Anglo was that all deposits not matter what size were guaranteed until 31st dec 2010 can ANYBODY tell me is this the case or not ?and if not then why are they allowed to advertise this surely if they are guaranteeing something then it should do what it says on the tin ???
Cheers,
Jackas

njstone9

That's what they told me too, until December 2010, when it will be reviewed.

For me, it's more about WHO is guaranteeing the deposits. If it's the UK or Irish government's, then I would feel more secure.

But it's not, it's just the Isle of Man, and how can they honestly have enough money to do that?

If Anglo Irish went down, maybe the money in the Anglo Irish part would be safe. Maybe. But I wouldn't be surprised if all the offshore account holders were left high and dry.

Honestly, if they could provide better assurance, surely they would. Otherwise why else would they simply refer to a few treaty agreements which seem to me to be meaningless?

jackas

anybody else got any opinions on this ? am i reading to much into this ? would be nice to know as i have sunk a fair chunk in with this mob,
Jackas

C_Mababejive

njstone9 wrote: »

I also have money in Anglo Irish International (IOM). I read news yesterday in the telegraph that the bank was intending to scale down its operations.

I have £13,000 there (my pitiful life savings so far) and I don't really trust that if the bank failed I would get it back from the IOM government. How on earth could they cover it?

On the other hand, I don't know what else I can do. I can't open a UK-based bank which would be properly protected because I'm non-resident (I'm working in Singapore). I have searched for many, many hours for accounts which don't require me to be resident. There simply aren't any.

Other offshore accounts are also unattractive either in their terms, or also in the lack of faith I have in the IOM government to bail them out.

The only offshore account I have found is one from Nationwide, also in the IOM, but guaranteed by its parent bank. That though is a fixed 1 year bond for only 2.05%, compared to the instant access variable 2.9% (but presumably likely to go up in the future) I get with Anglo Irish.

I don't know what to do.

Send it to me. I'll look after it for you and give you a promissory note.

seriously..i wouldnt put money in any institution that didnt have UK FSCS backing. That means a UK institution..not ING or anything similar.

If we ever have another icesave,i guarantee that the UK Government will let it and its UK investors sink.

Do you want to risk it?

rockitup

njstone9 wrote: »

I also have money in Anglo Irish International (IOM). I read news yesterday in the telegraph that the bank was intending to scale down its operations.

I have £13,000 there (my pitiful life savings so far) and I don't really trust that if the bank failed I would get it back from the IOM government. How on earth could they cover it?

On the other hand, I don't know what else I can do. I can't open a UK-based bank which would be properly protected because I'm non-resident (I'm working in Singapore). I have searched for many, many hours for accounts which don't require me to be resident. There simply aren't any.

Other offshore accounts are also unattractive either in their terms, or also in the lack of faith I have in the IOM government to bail them out.

The only offshore account I have found is one from Nationwide, also in the IOM, but guaranteed by its parent bank. That though is a fixed 1 year bond for only 2.05%, compared to the instant access variable 2.9% (but presumably likely to go up in the future) I get with Anglo Irish.

I don't know what to do.

Coincidence that you read about the scaling down of Anglo Irish IOM in the Telegraph. The very same paper that I read an article about the Icelandic banks risks almost 8 months before their collapse in 2008.

I had a good bit deposited with Icesave UK and A & L IOM and pulled out of Icesave in February 2008 when I read the Telegraph article and then subsequently moved all my cash from A & L IOM a couple of days after KSF/Landsbanki etc closed operations.

I too am Non-Resident in UK but luckily enough I was too lazy to close down my UK Bank accounts when I relocated so still have them to make use of the FSCS guarantees

Do you not ever make trips back to UK and could possibly open a new account/s and have a trusted relative/friend to receive your statements and ATM cards?. Then if you are elegible to receive interest gross you can make a claim on the R40 or R43 form (can't remember which) every year.