Are your savings safe? article discussion

innovate

G'Meister wrote: »

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned BitCoin,

loads and loads and loads of mention of Bitcoin on here
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=&as_epq=bitcoin&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=forums.moneysavingexpert.com&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=

gaston909

I made the mistake of putting what little savings I do have into bitcoin, now they have gone up 100% in a matter of weeks... I do not know where to begin with the tax implications.

John_Pierpoint

Sounds like a capital gain to me if you turn it back into money; you get a nil rate tax allowance of £10,600 a year.

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is, think I would realise my gain, were I in that happy position.

rj1p

I can't post links, so edit accordingly... Thanks to http:// hat4uk.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/ smoke-signals-special-eurogroup-will-stop-capital-flight-now/ for pointing it out: Santander have managed to get out of cover by the FSCS. This is business accounts, which should be covered like personal ones:


IMPORTANT CHANGES TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR SANTANDER BUSINESS CURRENT ACCOUNTS AND BUSINESS SAVINGS ACCOUNTS’


1 b) Your Money
Any money held for you in an account with Santander UK plc will be held in its capacity as a bank and not as a trustee. In accordance with FSA requirements we areobliged to notify you that the client money rules on money do notapply to a Banking Consolidation Directive (BCD) in relation to deposits within the meaning of the BCD held by that institution. As a result, the money will not be held within the client money rules of the FSA.’



I thought Santander couldn’t wiggle out of the FSCS because it applies to small businesses like it does for personal accounts, but no:

www. fsa.gov.uk/pubs/ hb-releases/rel30 /rel30cass.pdf

This link has the following: (from section 4.1.2, see part 3a below)

The client money rules do not apply with respect to:
(1) the permitted activities of a long−term insurer or a friendly
society; or
(2) coins held on behalf of a client if the firm and the client have
agreed that the money (or money of that type) is to be held by the
firm for the intrinsic value of the metal which constitutes the coin;
or
(3) money held by a firm which is an approved bank, but
only when held in an account with itself, in which case the firm
must notify the client in writing that:
(a) money held for that client in an account with the
approved bank will be held by the firm as banker and not as
trustee (or in Scotland as agent); and
(b) as a result, the money will not be held in accordance with the
client money rules; or
(4) money held by depositaries wh….

So all they need to do is inform you they are ‘holding it as a banker’ instead of ‘holding it as trustee’ and they’re off the hook, or rather tax payers are, I suppose.

Sillychuckie

Are my savings safe? I don't understand what this means, which was written on a note with my new ISA.

"Coventry building society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Predential Regulation Authority.
Any reference to the Society being authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority should now be read as above."

Thanks. SC

Edit: They appear to be on the FSA website under registration number 150892, but I still don't really understand the note as it is written above. Is it something to do with a merger?

innovate

Sillychuckie wrote: »

Are my savings safe? I don't understand what this means,

You could read this:http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/safe-savings

Sillychuckie wrote: »

"Coventry building society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Predential Regulation Authority.
Any reference to the Society being authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority should now be read as above."

It just says that any reference to the FSA should now be understood as referring to the new organisations, PRA and FCA, as appropriate.

John_Pierpoint

Jimhassel wrote: »

I've got some savings, but don't know what to do with it.
I did kept it to buy a house but still don't have enough.
I thought about physical gold, but it's now almost impossible to buy it anonymously, and a gold confiscation is very possible if economy goes very bad.
I don't care if my investment don't bring me more money, but I'd like not to lose money.

Factoring company

Hi Jim,

How about doing something useful, like explaining how customer deposits are "protected" federally or in individual states like California.

Over here in UK individuals were protected for the first £50k of their savings per institution; this limit was subsequently raised to £85k, under what should have been a EU wide agreement.
However there are three potential problems with the "money as debt" system:
Bank mergers and the creation of subsidiaries can mean that the "saver" has unknowingly exceeded the £85k "protection".
As two small island economies have demonstrated, when the debt is unmanageable, then in the final analysis depositors will be hit.
In the long run the only way our children's children can pay off the debt is to try to devalue the currency. Here in the UK, the banks are being kept afloat by a government printing money to prevent interest rates rising to even cover the ravages of inflation.

Fortunately, the majority of savers have yet to realise that a £50 note (the largest currency "bill" in the UK), will have become a £45 note in 2 or 3 years time?

John

Bernard_Coleslaw

Sillychuckie wrote: »

Are my savings safe? I don't understand what this means, which was written on a note with my new ISA.

"Coventry building society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Predential Regulation Authority.
Any reference to the Society being authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority should now be read as above."

Thanks. SC

Edit: They appear to be on the FSA website under registration number 150892, but I still don't really understand the note as it is written above. Is it something to do with a merger?

The FSA ceased to exist at the beginning of April and was replaced by the PRA and FCA. The note is simply telling you that Coventry (in the same way as just about every other UK bank and building society) is now regulated under the new arrangements.

All firms have 12 months to change their leaflets over, so in the meantime I guess some of them will put notes like this into packs to tell customers about the change.

In answer to your first question, it is the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) which actually protects your savings - this hasn't changed and Coventry remains a member of this Scheme.

Edit: Just saw Innovate answered this two hours ago. I need to get some coffee.....

gregorymorrill

It is important that you save with safe company in order to be secure and safe. Know the background of the company.

innovate

Your just need to check whether they offer FSCS protection. No need to make any background checks etc. See the link I posted earlier today for details.