Are your savings safe? article discussion

Optimist

Senator wrote: »

After what've experienced so far... I just don't trust banks with my money. Keep withdrawing and puting in secure safe is also worrying from theft/fire/floods...etc. Does anyone know any alternative?

You could give it to me..Trust me I'm at least as secure as an Iceland bank...

JimmyTheWig

The times on the "latest news" should read am not pm. Nothing has yet happened at 10pm today!

Edit: Now showing a more reasonable 6pm. Thanks.

Rachel_Jones

Am feeling sick because large amount in KE which I thought I transferred on 6th seems to be lost in space. Like many others I believed I was investing in a UK bank with UK guarantees as described in its terms and conditions. But now I understand it has been taken over by ING with a different set of rules. Do these new rules now apply to KE. Is is legal to move my money from UK to Netherlands without consultation or agreement?

I also have quite a large sum in ICICI. What is the advice about this? All my investments have been following advice in reputable newspapers. I feel very upset and don't know what to do or who to listen to. Have worked very hard all my life and rely on interest for income. Am now in my 70s and could do without all this worry.

Sorry to seem feeble - thanks for listening.

clue_2

Rachel_Jones wrote: »

Am feeling sick because large amount in KE which I thought I transferred on 6th seems to be lost in space. Like many others I believed I was investing in a UK bank with UK guarantees as described in its terms and conditions. But now I understand it has been taken over by ING with a different set of rules. Do these new rules now apply to KE. Is is legal to move my money from UK to Netherlands without consultation or agreement?

I also have quite a large sum in ICICI. What is the advice about this? All my investments have been following advice in reputable newspapers. I feel very upset and don't know what to do or who to listen to. Have worked very hard all my life and rely on interest for income. Am now in my 70s and could do without all this worry.

Sorry to seem feeble - thanks for listening.

I am in the same boat as you.

I have tried transferring a large amount from KE to my nominated account and nothing is showing.

I am now starting to panic as it is my life savings and they are keeping us in the dark!

What is actually going on? Can anyone explain in plain English what is happening? The fact that KE have been taken over by ING, that's that mean it is business as normal?

baby_boomer

Seeing this thread resurrected reminds me of the prescience of Associated Newspapers (Mail and Standard) last May:

Evening_Standard wrote:

"There is no way on earth...the Icelandic government can support a rescue if, God forbid, one of its banks were to go under."

Or as the Icelandic PM put it five months later (yesterday)

it is not wise for a small country to try to take a leading role in international banking,”

Rachel_Jones

Would really appreciate some thoughts on savings in ICICI Bank.

silvercar

So there are 3 questions:
1) Is it correct that monies held in a solicitor’s general client account on behalf of a single (or joint) purchaser are added to other deposit balances held singly or jointly by that purchaser, in the event that it is same authorised bank in both cases, for the purposes of the FCSC limit?

According to articles in the press; Yes it's true. Maybe agree a 5% deposit to minimise your risk.

2) Even if the purchaser and the purchaser's solicitor use a different authorised bank, then for an example £500k purchase there will be an exposure of £500k for at least 5 days during which time the solicitor’s client account bank could go bust. Given the current uncertainty, what is the work-around to this potentially catastrophic situation? Conveyancing solicitors must surely have an answer to this.

Solicitor's often draw down the money the day before completion day. Provided you exchanged with a reasonable gap before completion one day should be sufficient. I would also tend to avoid completing on a monday to ensure the funds are not sitting around for the weekend.

3) Or is this a risk which in practice cannot be mitigated or avoided? ( Gulp – who can afford to lose this sort of money?)

I would imagine that solicitor's have a duty of care, even if they are not liable for the money. Solicitor's client accounts are generally with major UK banks rather than foreign banks trading in Britain. If you do want that extra protection, enquire of your solicitor which bank holds the client account and move your savings out of that bank.

pjala

It seems sensible now to have a list of local authorities, and any other organisations that bank/banked with icelandic banks. Is it possible to do this? The knock on effects of Iceland going bankrupt, could push the whole globe into a massive recession, with the first casualties immediately being those businesses who have lost their banking account as of today.

I-LOV-MONEY

Rachel_Jones wrote: »

Would really appreciate some thoughts on savings in ICICI Bank.

I don't know anything. I have approx £7k there myself. Hopefully £5k will be in my bank account tomorrow.

I am now beginning to get very cautious after seeing my money get frozen in Iceland and will probably withdraw it next week (if it is still is existence ). The trouble is where to put it all. I came out of the stock market and as Harry Enfield once said I have "loadsamoney" to invest !

ZTD

pjala wrote: »

It seems sensible now to have a list of local authorities, and any other organisations that bank/banked with icelandic banks. Is it possible to do this? The knock on effects of Iceland going bankrupt, could push the whole globe into a massive recession, with the first casualties immediately being those businesses who have lost their banking account as of today.

From http://www.order-order.com/2008/10/peston-leaker-hunt.html

and I have no idea if it is right, wrong, or indifferent - or indeed where the figures are originally from.

Kent County Council - £50 million
Nottingham City Council - £42 million
Norfolk County Council - £32.5 million
Dorset County Council - £28.1 million
Hertfordshire - £28 million
Barnet Council- £27 million
Somerset County Council - £25 million
Northumberland County Council - £23 million
Surrey County Council - £20 million
Hillingdon Council - £20 million
Neath Port Talbot Council - £20 million
Westminster Council - £17 million
Brent - £15 million
Caerphilly County Council - £15 million.
North Ayrshire - £15 million
Plymouth City Council £13 million
Havering Council - £12.5 million
South Hams - £12.5 million
West Sussex - £12.9 million
Breckland Council - £12 million
Gloucestershire County Council - £12 million
Cheltenham Borough Council - £11 million
Lancashire County Council - £10 million
Scottish Borders Council - £10m
Cambridge City Council - £9 million
Wakefield - £9 million
West Oxfordshire District Council - £9 million
Wyre Forest District Council - £9 million
Cheshire County Council - £8.5 million
Bassetlaw District Council - £8 million
Bristol City Council - £8 million
Daventry District Council - £8 million
Wiltshire County Council - £8 million
South Lanarkshire Council - £7.5 million
Derwentside District Council - £7 million
North East Lincolnshire Council - £7 million
West Lindsey District Council - £7 million
Cherwell District Council - £6.5 million
Redcar and Cleveland Council - £6 million
Lancaster City Council - £6 million
Canterbury City Council - £6 million
Ceredigion - £5.5 million
North Lincolnshire Council - £ 5.5 million
Sutton Council - £5.5 million
Bracknell Forest - £5 million
Bromley Borough Council - £5 million
Buckinghamshire County Council - £5 million
Stoke-on-Trent Council - £5 million
Braintree District - £5 million
Cornwall County Council - £5 million
Exeter City Council - £5 million
Ipswich Borough Council - £5 million
Oxfordshire County Council - £5 million
South Ayrshire - £5 million
South Ribble - £5 million
Wokingham Borough Council - £5 million
Gateshead Council - £4.5 million
Oxford City Council - £4.5 million
Colchester Borough Council - £4 million
East Lindsey District Council - £4 million
East Staffordshire Borough Council - £4 million
North Wiltshire District Council - £4 million
Powys Council £4 million
Restormel Borough Council - £4 million
Rotherham Council - £3.8 million
Flintshire Council - £3.7 million
Aylesbury District Council - £3 million
East Ayrshire - £3 million
North Somerset - £3 million
Doncaster Council - £3 million
Nuneaton and Bedworth - £3 million
Peterborough City Council - £3 million
Rhondda Cynon Taff Council - £3 million
Solihull Council - £3 million
Stroud - £3 million
Slough Council - £2.5 million
South Oxfordshire District Council - £2.5 million
Wycombe District Council - £2.5 million
Cotswold District Council - £2 million
Gloucester City Council - £2 million
Great Yarmouth - £2 million
Moray Council - £2 million
Newark and Sherwood District Council - £2 million
South Ham District Council - £1.25 million
Monmouthshire Council - £1.2 million
Mid-Devon - £1.1 million
Charnwood Borough Council - £1 million
Dover District Council - £1 million
Bridgend Council - £1 million
Bridgenorth - £1 million
Hertsmere Borough Council - £1 million
Kirklees Council - £1 million
Perth and Kinross Council - £1 million
Tewkesbury Council - £1 million
Vale of White Horse District Council - £1 million
Winchester - £1 million
Sevenoaks District Council - £1 million
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - £1 million
Lewes District Council - £1 million
Burnley Council - TBC
Chorley Council - TBC
Wychavon District Council - TBC
Other affected bodies
Transport For London - £40 million
Metropolitan Police - £30 million
Dorset Police Authority - £7 million
Sussex Police Authority - £6.8 million
West Yorkshire Police Authority - £6 million
Northumbria Police Authority - £3.5 million
Hertfordshire Police Authority - £3 million
Gwent Police Authority - £1 million