Where is the safest place for CASH if it all goes pear shaped?

TM1

Where is the best place to put cash at the moment in terms of a specific bank or building society?

If everything goes pear shaped in Europe then it could (worst case scenario) cause a domino effect of bank failures, firstly amongst those most exposed to Greek/Spanish/Other debts, then to banks that are exposed to the banks exposed to the Eurozone debts.

So in such a scenario which are the institutions most likely to survive? I'm guessing building societies are a better bet than banks as they mostly raise money from retail investors rather than the markets, but I'm also aware that some BS do borrow from the markets, and also that others are in trouble because of their Buy to Let loanbooks.

And then there's a general risk even to 'safe' institutions if failures elsewhere lead to a run on the BS...

I also realise that savings up to £85k are covered by the compensation scheme, but TBH I'd rather not have to test that out - certainly not at the same time as everyone else...

So, is there a particular BS (or even bank) that is more likely to survive a 'worst case' scenario' (or just 'bad case scenario' depending on your viewpoint) than most?

When answering please assume that I've already considered 'under the bed', and 'invest it in gold/silver/wine/whatever' - I just want to know the safest place for cash (and that I want to keep it as cash, not invest it in something else)...

ses6jwg

These threads seriously need to stop, they are getting very tiresome.

If the financial system goes belly up it doesn't matter where your CASH is because your CASH will be just be PIECES OF PAPER. It is a FIAT currency it is not BACKED BY ANYTHING IT IS WORTH WHAT THE GOVERNMENT AND THE MARKETS TELLS YOU IT IS A WORTH. IT HAS NO INSTRINSIC VALUE.

If you are genuinely of the belief that the financial system will collapse then I reccomend you purchase a firearm, gold, survival gear and plenty of tinned foodstuffs.

Otherwise, keep your money in a FSCS bank and under the 85k and GET ON WITH YOUR LIVES.

Rant over.

TM1

ses6jwg wrote: »

These threads seriously need to stop, they are getting very tiresome.

Then STOP READING THEM - the clue was in the subject line, if you're fed up with them just ignore it and move on...

ses6jwg

You don't need any more answers though.

Every financial institution is inter linked via the money markets.

If a big boy like RBS, Santander, Lloyds TSB, Bank of Ireland et al. were allowed to fail (which they won't anyway) every bank and building society will be affected.

If the financial system collapsed your cash will revert to its intrinsic value - toilet paper.

opinions4u

Tins of beans, tins of fruit, tins of meat and a tinopener. Bottles of water. Shotgun with amunition. Spade. Warm clothes. Possibly cigarettes for trade.

A good knife and some matches in a waterproof container wouldn't go amiss either.

JoeCrystal

Oh and do not forget, we might not have any gas nor electric, so load of logs, candles, matches, fire striker. And importantly, water purification tablets just in case you run out of bottle of waters. Really, it would require bit of money to make yourself self-sufficient but not impossible, providing you got some renewable source of energy, water and food.

If there is widespread collapse of financial institution, then bank notes can be very useful when burning for heat/cooking.

But the most important point in this case, is having access to internet. Which in this case, get a sat uplink.

ed123_2

....in my view the euro will fail eventually as you cannot have monitory union without fiscal and political union. ( and the southern european states will default in 1/2 years in my view) However the 26 states have made a start towards a single state. I would say the smaller building societies who basically concentrate on retail savings and mortgages would be a better bet. (you would have to look at their latest accounts to see if anything nasty is hidden). The replies to these type of questions always focus on a total breakdown of the financial system but I would look at the possibility of a partial breakdown with the financial institutions with low/no eurozone debt exposure surviving while others falling. The trouble is no one can be sure where the debt/derivatives etc is hidden and the interconnections between the banks/countries. Look at the failure of Leman Brothers that did,nt bring down the financial system.........ed

oldvicar

Nobody has answered OP's question yet, so how about this:

NS&I (National Savings and Investments) is now one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, with over 26 million customers and almost £100 billion invested.

A range of 100% secure investments

We offer a range of savings and investments to suit different people at different stages of their life. All the money you save or invest with NS&I will be 100% secure, as we are backed by HM Treasury – there is no overall limit on how much is guaranteed

http://www.nsandi.com

opinions4u

oldvicar wrote: »

Nobody has answered OP's question yet, so how about this:


http://www.nsandi.com

And if the British Government defaults?

rb10

If it's specifically direct exposures to the peripheral euro-area countries that you are concerned about, then Barclays holds the greatest amount of risk, followed by LBG and RBS.

The others - HSBC, Nationwide and Santander, along with all the little building societies - only have a very small direct exposure to either sovereign debt or private sector debt in these countries.

However, that's not to say that Barclays, LBG and RBS are in any serious danger. Remember that they are significantly better capitalised now than they were in 2007 or 2008, and could thus take even a severe haircut on these assets and still remain solvent.

It's really not something to worry about if your money is with British banks. (And remember that Santander is a British bank in the UK).

oldvicar

opinions4u wrote: »

And if the British Government defaults?

It won't. It just wouldn't be cricket old bean.

Specifically, I believe (can't find a reference though) that the British Government is the ONLY major sovereign to have NEVER defaulted.

More particularly the British government is in control of its own money printing presses, and has absolutley no need to default on Sterling denominated obligations. This doesn't stop Sterling being devalued, indeed I deeply suspect that could be part of a cunning plan, but at least you can be sure of getting it back!