santander

sorcerer

Santander UK is as safe as any other bank in the UK and with the same level of protection. I am keeping my money in, at least up to the £85,000 limit.

exel1966

As long as you have no more than £85k with them you're money is as secure with Santander as it is in any other UK bank.

Many scaremongers out there when it comes to money and many of them write on these forums !

verntern

exel1966 wrote: »

As long as you have no more than £85k with them you're money is as secure with Santander as it is in any other UK bank.

Many scaremongers out there when it comes to money and many of them write on these forums !

Many 'scaremongers out there' like to protect their savings and warn others how to avoid losing their money to a bankrupt country and a Spanish bank. Those who have closed their accounts with Santander can sleep more easily.

oldvicar

The irony is that intriniscally Santandar UK probably is 'safer' than most other UK banks.

But it is also more vulnerable to collapse *IF* anything really nasty happens in Spain because the public will panic and do a Northern Rock on it, forming long queues asking for their money back.

Many in the queue would be surprised to find that access to their money is denied because they have opened fixed term accounts with no early break possibilities. Maybe this and a bit of extra liquidity from BoE would prevent the doors closing. Even if it didn't I'd be surprised if those under the £85K limit lost a penny, but they might have a fright along the way.

innovate

oldvicar wrote: »

The irony is that intriniscally Santandar UK probably is 'safer' than most other UK banks.

That is probably very true, given that Santander UK has a lot less direct exposure to bad debt in Southern Europe than several other UK banks. Of course no bank is immune to the issues in the banking world, but putting Santander UK up as the biggest problem is absurd.

verntern wrote: »

Those who have closed their accounts with Santander can sleep more easily.

A picture of an emu with his head deep in the sand sprang to mind when I read this.

verntern wrote: »

Your bland statement 'Sandander UK has been acknowledged to be in a better position than many other UK banks'. Simplistic junk.

I don't even want to go to what could really be classified as 'simplistic junk' - but one thing is for sure: you have not done your homework, verntern. You might want to disagree with the conclusions Rating Agencies come to, but it's fair to assume they have a heck of a lot more data at their disposition than any of us, and they have done more analysis than any of us.

The most recent Ratings Agency report that I can find for free is here. You can buy more up to date reports but afaik the only substantial change since that November 2011 report was Moody's downgrading of Santander UK in May this year, followed by a similar downgrade by Finch a couple of days ago.

So Santander UK still enjoys one of the highest ratings available to UK banks.

People should put any irrational fears to one side and make informed decisions based on facts.

And finally....
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/banking/2012/05/santander-safety-qa-your-questions-answered

http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2012/05/19/how-safe-is-santander-uk-what-i-really-think/

societys_child

verntern wrote: »

and everyday someone makes their own independent decision where best to move their savings away from the deteriorating financial situation in Spain. Santander UK is a Spanish owned bank. Your bland statement 'Sandander UK has been acknowledged to be in a better position than many other UK banks'. Simplistic junk.

No it's not, educate yourself

Time to get your rolling eyes affliction seen to. By the way, I've taken my money out.
My eyes are fine, I have full control over 'em thanks

I've taken my money out

And you need to let the world know, because?

sabretoothtigger

We've gone over this before, superficially yes it looks awful.
Spanish = spanish crisis = doomed.
If we were playing snap with bank cards, Santa would surely be a total loss

Its a global bank, check the facts from more then one source and it should become a little clearer.


RBS was a global bank so it is far from guaranteed that they are better off. This statement is particularly wrong and pretty much explains the difference

Santander UK is merely a branch of the Spanish parent company.

Its a separate company. We used to call it Abbey National, each 'branch' is funded distinctly from the others
They operate largely in South America not Spain, that is a minority to them which is just as well as Spain is dire.
Worry about Argentina and their branches there, thats far worse possibly.

The RBS setup failed spectacularly because it was run all as one operation. Anytime a big purchase was made, the rest of the company was put up as security on the deal.

Santander on the other hand sells a section of each company it sets up, in a process of self funding. The UK section was due to become its own share on the stockmarket but obviously perceptions do not favour a sale.
So they are owned by the main bank but it is operated on profit losses within the UK only, not as a local branch for Spain

If Santander did get many losses in Brazil and similar it would likely cause assets sales. A change of owner but not nearly like hidden danger or sudden collapse.

Im fairly certain the UK bank has no holding of Spanish debt itself, that would be something good to check but why should they when the underlying banks previous to purchase by Santander wouldnt have really gone abroad like that. Bradford and Bingley was the worst with USA debt but it was acquired savings only. Alliance and Leicester was another, I cant remember hearing their problems but it was UK based debt I believe?

Problems have been apparent for years now and there is nothing new in recent news

Ramires_2

mrskpickles wrote: »

might be a daft question, my husband has been watching the news, and wonders whether we should move the £18k we have in santander to another bank, we have about £30k dotted in different accounts in natwest, would the santander money be better in there....he's worried about something "happening" santander. thank you kirstie

Your money is safe. The Spanish economy problems have nothing to do with Santander UK. They will not and cannot use Santander UK for bailing out - infact they have already came out and said how they are getting bailed out.

I can't stress enough, Santander UK is completely different from Santander in Spain. It is under the exact same rules and regulations as banks like RBS & Lloyds are in the UK. All under the FSA, and FSCS 85k protection.

Don't listen to Verntern. He has no facts to back up what he's saying. The facts are simple - your money would be safe with Santander UK.

Ramires_2

verntern wrote: »

You are right to be concerned. Santander UK is merely a branch of the Spanish parent company. Be wary that their more attractive interest rates probably incorporate a higher risk to your savings. With the turmoil of the Spanish economy I can forsee Santander Spain dipping into the assets of Santander UK. True, your savings are protected under the The Financial Services Compensation Scheme. If Santander went bust then what would be the hassle of you and thousands of others going through an untested compensation scheme? Personally, I have transferred all my savings out of Santander. Your money is with a Spanish bank.

verntern wrote: »

and everyday someone makes their own independent decision where best to move their savings away from the deteriorating financial situation in Spain. Santander UK is a Spanish owned bank. Your bland statement 'Sandander UK has been acknowledged to be in a better position than many other UK banks'. Simplistic junk. Time to get your rolling eyes affliction seen to. By the way, I've taken my money out.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. See highlighted!

sabretoothtigger

Ironically if they had just kept the Abbey National brand we'd have none of this.
The impression would be different, of a UK bank but the situation exactly the same as now