I'm switching to Handelsbanken

jinkster

If I had a lot of money to deposit, it certainly wouldn't be in the bank whether it be Handelsbanken or HSBC or the safest bank in the world.

Olipro

Degenerate wrote: »

As a depositer, would you rather lose your money or suffer a bit of inflation?

you seem very confident that under the passport scheme you would end up losing your money.

personally I very much doubt it.

jinkster

If the bank also offers accounts to high net worth individuals and also offers a very low ISA rate of 0.5% they are hardly desperate for money.

When the bank is offering big incentives to open accounts, high rates of interest - they maybe they need your money to stay afloat! Just a suggestion.

Degenerate

Olipro wrote: »

you seem very confident that under the passport scheme you would end up losing your money.

personally I very much doubt it.

It's not just a matter of whether you end up losing your money. The Icesave depositors got their money back in the end, but I very much doubt they would do the same again. It's about wanting your deposits guaranteed to the highest level, regulated by authorities that are answerable to the UK taxpayer, and not being tied up for months whilst claims are processed in the event of a failure.

The passport scheme has already proved wholly inadequate. Icesave wasn't the only bank to become insolvent, after all, but contrast the experience of a Bradford & Bingley or Northern Rock depositor vs an Icesave one. That's the advantage of having your bank under the local regulator that has the power to intervene before it becomes necessary to freeze accounts and liquidate the whole operation.

I'll choose my own risk-bearing investments in exchange for an appropriate return and keep my deposits where they are safest, thank you.

Olipro

Degenerate wrote: »

It's not just a matter of whether you end up losing your money. The Icesave depositors got their money back in the end, but I very much doubt they would do the same again. It's about wanting your deposits guaranteed to the highest level, regulated by authorities that are answerable to the UK taxpayer, and not being tied up for months whilst claims are processed in the event of a failure.

The passport scheme has already proved wholly inadequate. Icesave wasn't the only bank to become insolvent, after all, but contrast the experience of a Bradford & Bingley or Northern Rock depositor vs an Icesave one. That's the advantage of having your bank under the local regulator that has the power to intervene before it becomes necessary to freeze accounts and liquidate the whole operation.

I'll choose my own risk-bearing investments in exchange for an appropriate return and keep my deposits where they are safest, thank you.

I refer you to my penultimate reply.

again, comparing other EU institutions to Iceland is laughable, let's start comparing Coventry's council to Westminster and using Coventry as the basis of counterparty risk assessment.

As far as the passport scheme goes, anyone interested in it should have a look here: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/bank/guarantee/index_en.htm

michaels

But does anyone know if they offer faster payments as that is a deal breaker for me at the moment?

mousegirl3

Husband works for Handelsbanken. They do do faster payments. (receiving bank must also be capable of accepting a faster payment for a faster payment to work)
As for deposit protection go to handelsbankens uk website select any uk branch, click individual banking then there is a link to an important notice about deposit protection.

Husband and I have most of banking with them and I would not be in the slightest bit worried about the safety of our money.

Old_Eyes

Degenerate wrote: »

It's not just a matter of whether you end up losing your money. The Icesave depositors got their money back in the end, but I very much doubt they would do the same again. It's about wanting your deposits guaranteed to the highest level, regulated by authorities that are answerable to the UK taxpayer, and not being tied up for months whilst claims are processed in the event of a failure.

The passport scheme has already proved wholly inadequate. Icesave wasn't the only bank to become insolvent, after all, but contrast the experience of a Bradford & Bingley or Northern Rock depositor vs an Icesave one. That's the advantage of having your bank under the local regulator that has the power to intervene before it becomes necessary to freeze accounts and liquidate the whole operation.

I'll choose my own risk-bearing investments in exchange for an appropriate return and keep my deposits where they are safest, thank you.

A rather simple way to look at a Banks financial stability, to give you peace of mind, is to refer to one of the rating agencys. For example, with Moodys Handelsbanken's Long Term rating is equal to HSBC and Banco Santander, and better than that of Barclays, NatWest/RBS and Lloyds. Furthermore Moody's regard the outlook as stable.

It's also worth nothing that Handelsbanken has not applied for any government support in either the current economic downturn, nor during the 1990's. The credit rating Moody's have applied, reflects all this and in actual fact the rating is one of the strongest in terms of financial stability in the whole of Europe i.e. ensuring deposits are well guarded.

Comparing an Icelandic bank with a Swedish Bank is like comparing an English Bank to an Irish Bank. It bears no real relation at a micro level whatsoever.

In any event Handelsbanken are regulated by both the FSA and the Swedish government and deposits are currently, as with all banks in the EU (as of 31st Dec 2010), guarded up to €100k.

I hope this helps.

jinkster

mousegirl3 wrote: »

Husband works for Handelsbanken. They do do faster payments. (receiving bank must also be capable of accepting a faster payment for a faster payment to work)
As for deposit protection go to handelsbankens uk website select any uk branch, click individual banking then there is a link to an important notice about deposit protection.

Husband and I have most of banking with them and I would not be in the slightest bit worried about the safety of our money.

Do you know if they are likely to bring out an iPhone app because from what I understand - the online banking system is an inconvenience!

Milarky

Olipro wrote: »

Faster payments is the name of an RTGS payment system, single payments of up to £10k can be sent via it and reach the beneficiary immediately.

It's actually £100K now (since last September) Of course no one seems to have told any of the banks about this!