Are your savings safe? article discussion

stphnstevey

soulsaver wrote: »

Off the top of my head:

NRock 2.5 easy access; Post Office 2.9; Halifax 2% easy access or 2.5% w/d limits (both add 0.2% if funding a c/a £1k pm); Egg 2.8%;
Lloyds Vantage 4%....etc

Or did you mean something else?

Thanks but it's a business account - I was looking for any more info on the solvency of Anglo Irish Bank

murphydavid

gordonjazz wrote: »

I recently intended to open a 3 year Post Office Growth Bond and invest nearly the maximum FSCS protected deposit amount. When I asked their Customer Service representative what the protected amount was they said it was the equivalent of €100,000. When I checked this they insisted this was correct. So I rang the FSCS and was told it had been decided that £85,000 would be the Sterling equivalent of €100,000 for the next five years. When I asked what would happen if the Euro crashed, was split into two rates or completely abandoned within the next five years they replied that the £85,000 figure would be "reviewed"!
How, on that basis, am I expected to make a decision on what is a safe amount to deposit over the next five years? Why when I am investing sterling in a British institution am I at the mercy of the vagaries of the Euro? (I know that this account is run by the Bank of Ireland but this FSCS arrangement applies to other investment offers that are not).
Is this protection less secure than when it was fixed at £50,000?

I think you are worrying unnecessarily.
The way I see it It boils down to –
Can customers in one company in the FSCF have less protection than in another? – no.
Will the government lower the protection amount? – I don’t think so.
Is the amount reviewed? - Yes by the UK government but they only consider if it should be raised - never lowered.
Is £85,000 the equivalent of €100,000 - no it goes up and down daily with the exchange rate but UK savings remain protected up to £85,000
Can a company who is in the scheme opt out or be forced out – If they do then the scheme kicks in so your money is protected.

stphnstevey

For anyone interested, had a chat to AngloIrish Bank today. They still don't seem to know what is happening (takeover, merger etc). They reassured me that the deposits are backed up by the Irish Goverment Garantee and the Irish Goverment now backed by Europe.

i mentioned the Icelandic bank scenario and they said that Iceland did not have European backing.

Any thoughts welcome?

iilg

One would think Anglo's deposits are even more safe now:

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/aib-and-permanent-win-bid-for-euro122bn-of-deposit-transfers-2555799.html


AIB and Permanent TSB were last night unveiled as the successful bidders for the €12.2bn of deposits being transferred out of embattled Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide.

murphydavid

stphnstevey wrote: »

For anyone interested, had a chat to AngloIrish Bank today. They still don't seem to know what is happening (takeover, merger etc). They reassured me that the deposits are backed up by the Irish Goverment Garantee and the Irish Goverment now backed by Europe.

i mentioned the Icelandic bank scenario and they said that Iceland did not have European backing.

Any thoughts welcome?

Do you have details of a particular savings account with AI that pays a higher interest rate than an English bank or is there some other attraction. I am just curious to know why a Uk resident would put their savings in AI?

stphnstevey

It is a business saver for 2.25%
http://www.angloirishbank.co.uk/Business_Banking/Business_Deposits/

Thats about 4x better than the best instant access business saver

debbie_cliff

I am slightly concerned about the FSCS because when I enquired what would happen if they were unable to meet their obligations the guy on the phone said that would NEVER happen.

My advice to him was never say NEVER because if there was a full financial meltdown in the UK there is no way they could afford the payout.

I am aware this is a very extreme event but they should have considered it as a scenario and not live in a fools paradise !!

When doing my Actuarial exams I studied Extreme event theory and even though the probability of such an event would be miniscule you should always consider the consequences and come up with an action plan (ie living will)

Linton

The trouble is that the number of possible future disasters is rather large, you cant have an action plan for each one. At some stage you have to say this is as far as anything you can do would make any difference. The things you are talking about I believe are beyond that stage.

For example - if your proposed disaster happened would £85K be worth anything?

Going down those lines I think will lead you to survivalist lunacy and investing in real gold bullion.

John_Pierpoint

Linton wrote: »

Going down those lines I think will lead you to survivalist lunacy and investing in real gold bullion.

.........and sitting in a cave wondering how to eat it.

The value of gold at the present is as a guard against the nationalised debt being written off by too much quantitative easing created inflation and/or the supply side shortage inflation created by the economic power houses of the BRIC countries.

There is always a chance that bubbles will burst and governments loosing their precious sovereignty will gang up against gold and recreate a cap on gold like they did in the 1930's.

jacketshen

yes i am safe .. post post post