ING Direct - The dutch deposit scheme

TickyT

Hi,

Apologies if this question has already been answered elsewhere,

I've just grouped all of my savings into an ING direct savings account. The savings are my house deposit so no small amount (circa £30k), which i'll need to pay out in May 2011 as i've now bought a house.

Martin was on the TV this morning, and mentioned UK regulation and the cover provided which got me worrying about ING direct. As far as I can tell ING are definitely not covered by UK regulation but are subject to the Dutch deposit scheme which appears to cover up to £93,000.

My question is, is my money safe in an ING account until May or should I move it to a UK regulated account for my own safety (and sanity). Clearly i'm after opinions, and won't shoot anyone for expressing theirs.

Thanks in advance,

DavidHayton

The Dutch protection scheme should be equivalent to the UK scheme should the worst happen. However, whichever scheme you end up relying on, you might have to wait for your money. If you need it in a hurry you could be in trouble.

The more pertinent question therefore is the stability of ING. Anyone know?

If you are really spooked then you should divide your money into tranches and deposit, say £5k with several different institutions. Personally, I wouldn't bother. If ING failed then the repercussions would be felt throughout the European banking system. Remember that when the crisis came, RBS, HBOS, Northern Rock, etc were not allowed to fail.

David

lulu999

Where did you get the £93,000 figure from?

When I enquired about the Sterling equivalent of €100,000 of Dutch protection from ING, I was informed it was with reference to the European Central Bank exchange rates ( http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/index.en.html ). This rate is set daily.

Their calculation is different to FSCS protected banks which have a fixed rate amount of £85,000 for 5 (I think) years or unless rates move away from £85,000 significantly.

DavidHayton

lulu999 wrote: »

Where did you get the £93,000 figure from?

When I enquired about the Sterling equivalent of €100,000 of Dutch protection from ING, I was informed it was with reference to the European Central Bank exchange rates ( http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/index.en.html ). This rate is set daily.

Their calculation is different to FSCS protected banks which have a fixed rate amount of £85,000 for 5 (I think) years or unless rates move away from £85,000 significantly.

ING protection is 100,000 Euro http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/savings/compensation.asp
Enough for the OP's £30k.

David

Loughton_Monkey

TickyT wrote: »

My question is, is my money safe in an ING account until May or should I move it to a UK regulated account for my own safety (and sanity). Clearly i'm after opinions, and won't shoot anyone for expressing theirs.

It's as 'safe' there as in any other UK based saver like Nationwide, Halifax, etc. So you can keep your sanity. Personally, I would have been a trifle more worried about the interest rate, but since it's only until May, probably not worth moving.

barak

Loughton_Monkey wrote: »

It's as 'safe' there as in any other UK based saver like Nationwide, Halifax, etc.

I agree that it's probably safe, but surely not AS safe as it would be with an institution covered by the UK's FSCS.

TickyT

Thanks to all for your responses.

I'm going to leave the money where it is until May. I'm getting 2.7% interest, calculated daily and paid monthly so it's probably the best I can do and keep instant access.

Fingers crossed.....