Cyprus government raiding bank accounts : Santander.

alggomas

Will Spain be allowed to raid Santander bank accounts in Europe and UK?

dr_adidas01

alggomas wrote: »

Will Spain be allowed to raid Santander bank accounts in Europe and UK?

I guess they could if they wanted to!! The reality is no one knows!!!

Gromitt

I don't see how when Santander UK has nothing to do with the spanish Santander.

Even if Santander Spain went bush, the UK Santander will live on.

They can transfer a percentage of the profits, but the UK bank accounts must be ring fenced.

grumbler

Some old MSE article: Santander savers given assurances after Spain downgrade

A newer one: Santander safety Q&A: your questions answered

mulronie

My accounts with Santander are held with "Santander UK PLC", a company registered as a bank in England and regulated and authorised solely by British authorities.

It is a British bank subject to and governed by the laws of this country; that it has a Spanish shareholder does not change that.

jumperabv3

grumbler wrote: »

Santander savers given assurances after Spain downgrade

Is this the same assurance that was given by Kaupthing that crashed and its Isle of Man branch completely got bankrupt and the UK branch almost had the same thing?

alggomas

Dear grumbled,

Read the recent article about Santander.
Some but not complete relief.
Thanks.

pmduk

Remember Santander UK is part of the UK compensation scheme, banks based offshore will be part of their guarantee schemes which may/may not be as good as the UK scheme. It's one of the risks you take when investing offshore.

opinions4u

Our government could pass similar legislation to raid our bank accounts.

It doesn't matter if the bank is Spanish, Scottish or English.

RetiredInThailand

jumperabv3 wrote: »

Is this the same assurance that was given by Kaupthing that crashed and its Isle of Man branch completely got bankrupt and the UK branch almost had the same thing?

No because Iceland (rather like Cyprus) was/is a tin-pot little country with virtually no resources at all and a financial sector far larger than the value of the whole of the rest of the entire country. Spain at least has a few other things going for it.

Moral: don't deposit your money in tin-pot little countries.

TheBanker

Santander UK plc is a British bank, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK.

If you look at the situation with the Cypriate banks, the Cypriate government has effectively introduced a new tax on savings. However, this tax only applies to those accounts held in Cyprus. Those customers who hold accounts with Bank of Cyprus UK will not be subject to this tax, as like Santander UK plc they are a British bank authorised by the FSA, who happen to have a foreign shareholder.

The only way Santander UK plc could "dip into" accounts is if the British Government introduced a tax like the new tax in Cyprus. This is, I feel, unlikely as it would probably lead to riots on the streets. We're not quite that far, thank goodness.