Carpetbagging - is it worth it?

bristolleedsfan

Kaz64 wrote: »

Is Brittannia still around? I thought they had already gone?

:rotfl: u never hear much about brittannia cos their overall savings rates are rubbish. :rotfl: Brittannia got a slogan about everone getting treated equally hence apparent reason y all the savings rates are abysmal bar a homesaver account and monthly saver that ends after 12 months.

http://www.britannia.co.uk/c_savings/product/rates/current/savingsacc.html

Fella

On the subject of topping up accounts to keep them active & also on the subject of Britannia, here's a little-known fact: Depositing at Britannia DOESN'T keep the account active. Withdrawing does. I know this because I deposited there last year for the first time in nearly 10 years & was informed that the account was still dormant & would remain so until or unless I made a withdrawal. I have no idea why this is (my guess is it's a crap system that can't distinguish between deposit credits & interest credits, therefore they go by withdrawals, but that is just a guess). I also don't know what, if any, other BSs use this method. But Britannia does.

cheers
Fella

Kaz64_2

Bristolleedsfan, had a look at their website... see what you mean. They have a branch in Southampton though, so while I am there opening my Chelsea one, I might as well open one there too!

Fella, that's interesting... will have to keep an eye on that. I suppose you could make a withdrawal, walk round the block, then go put it back in, just to zap your account back to life!

bristolleedsfan

Kaz64 wrote: »

Bristolleedsfan, had a look at their website... see what you mean. They have a branch in Southampton though, so while I am there opening my Chelsea one, I might as well open one there too!

quote]

if u mean brittannia, ud be better off speculating with a 100.00 direct saver account. ( minimises speculative losses over what could be 5, 10 years or possibly forever. )

Kaz64_2

Yes, that was the one I mean.
Their rates are not too special, but the Direct Saver is the best they can do.
Never say never!

bristolleedsfan

Kaz64 wrote: »

do.
Never say never!

i didnt.

cheggers

I startered to wonder why Richard Branson and the Virgin Group were interested in buying out Northern Rock with the debts they have now, surely it would be cheeper for them to look at taking over a building society. I am sure Britannia, Yorkshire, Coventry, Chelsea or Skipton would be a better financial option.:j :j

EdInvestor

Looks like the BSs are having real problems with the credit crunch, due to being small and insignificant.Could be time for a bit more "togetherness" perhaps

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article3315062.ece


The Times is even more specific:

Britain’s embattled building societies could be forced into a fresh round of mergers and acquisitions, amid paralysed wholesale lending markets and with their profits crumbling, it is predicted today.
The CBI says that confidence among building societies is at “rock bottom”, having fallen to its lowest level since its polls began 18 years ago.In its latest survey, published in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the consultancy, the CBI says that profits at the societies over the three months to early December fell at their fastest rate since September 1992. They are expected to fall further and at least at the same pace in the current three-month period, the survey says.
John Hitchins, the UK banking leader at PwC, said that “most” building societies were being denied access to wholesale markets, which are crucial for funding, although he said that a Northern Rock-style crisis at a society was unlikely.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article3142785.ece

Liz_the_Whizz

Interesting article EdInvestor.

So we could be in for more mergers as Building Societies are forced to regroup.

And I've enjoyed some carpetbagging success in the past, and still have accounts dotted about the bigger building societies to catch any windfall.

But is it worth it? Since the benchmark set by the dismal £130 net payout from the Nationwide-Portman merger, I don't expect anything substantially better in the future even from a big showcase merger.

I'm certainly not looking to bag any more b/socs, as I doubt the tiddlers will pay out anything at all.

Anyone more optimistic?

quinlanmd

I doubt we will see any nil payout mergers, but whether future payouts will be worth the trouble for carpetbaggers is debatable.

I think something more along the lines of the Portman's takeover of the Greenwich some years back is more likely if the tiddlers are swallowed up (interest bonus as opposed to cash payouts). I look forward to being proved wrong though.