Ambiguity - are funds secured by FSA?

HenryG

Hi,

When funds are provided to a company who is not registered with FSA but who states "products are provided by ..." - a company who is registered with FSA, are funds protected by the FSA?

For example. FirstSave are not registered by FSA, but FBN Bank (UK) is registered. Firstsave correspondance states "FirstSave Products are provided by FBN Bank (UK) Ltd. Now when the chips are down, I can see a chink of ambiguity if funds were invested in FirstSave rather than FBN Bank directly which could provide the FSA with some wiggle room, or am I being paranoid?

FirstSave have told me they are a subsidiary of FBN Bank, which presumably means there is nothing to worry about in this particular case.

Mikeyorks

If you look at the Savings Accounts (Instant Access) link (directly above your post .. top left) you will find :

FirstSave is offering a higher 6.5% AER, though it doesn’t have a base rate guarantee. This is a brand new account from the UK subsidiary of the First Bank of Nigeria; as such I’ve no feedback on it, though it’s a licenced UK bank which means the £35,000 compensation scheme does apply (see the Safe Savings article), plus it's signed up to the Banking Code.

Until its proved itself, if you’re going to open it, I’d only open the account with £100, then if there are any delays you’re minimizing potential down time. Once it is up and running, it would be prudent not to put any more than the protected £35,000 limit in it.

.... As Martin's research is usually spot on ... no reason to doubt the protection offered.

Also - this direct from the FirstSave website :-

<H2>Financial protection

FirstSave accounts are provided by FBN Bank (UK) Ltd, a UK bank that began trading in 2002 and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (www.fsa.gov.uk). The bank is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (www.fscs.org.uk), which gives 100% protection for the first £35,000 of a depositor's total deposits.

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