This is because of the ongoing turmoil; for U.K. and Gulf residents who may have money deposited in the U.K.; read on:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/savings/3145589/How-safe-are-European-savings-accounts.html How safe are European savings accounts? Hundreds of thousands of UK savers have put money into top-paying deposit accounts run by various European banks. By Emma Simon Last Updated: 5:31PM BST 06 Oct 2008 Thousands of UK savers have put money into savings accounts run by Icelandic and other European banks Thousands of UK savers have put money into savings accounts run by Icelandic and other European banks Photo: GETTY These have been authorised by the Financial Services Authority to run savings account in the UK, although not all offer the same level of protection should the bank run into difficulties. Many would require their customers to first lodge a claim under the compensation scheme that operates in its home country, which in some cases offer far less protection than the £50,000 guaranteed in the UK under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. In such cases savers would then have to apply for a top-up to the FSCS. All in all, a time-consuming and arduous task, particularly if you have to negotiate claim forms in Icelandic or Dutch. There are also concerns that some countries may not be able to meet their liabilities under these compensation schemes, if they had to deal with widespread banking collapses. Iceland for example has only £88m in its kitty which is covering deposits of £13bn. To add to their woes, savers with the Icelandic bank Icesave, found that they could not withdraw funds yesterday because of technical problems with the bank's website. But to complicate matters further, some European banks do hold a separate banking licence, so savers would simply be fully covered under the FSCS. Any foreign banks from outside the EU that offer savings account over here are required to be fully covered by the FSCS. So any saver with money in an American bank, such as Citibank, the Indian Bank ICICI or the Nigerian Bank FirstSave has their first £50,000 guaranteed by the statutory compensation scheme. Remember too that if you have money in an offshore account - even if this is run by a UK-authorised bank, such as Alliance & Leicester, this will not be protected by the FSCS, as these offshore locations, be it the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man do not generally fall under its remit. Below are a list of the European banks that offer savings accounts in the UK, with further details about the protection offered. Iceland There are two main Icelandic banks that offer savings account in the UK. IceSave, which is part of the Landsbanki Group, operates under the passport scheme. So savers would have to first apply to the Icelandic compensation scheme for redress. Although for Icelandic savers the government now offers 100pc guarantee on deposits, this is not the case for British savers. For them, the maximum protected is just €20,000 (£15,550) and they then have to apply for a top-up payment of up to £50,000 from the FSCS. Kaupthing Edge, however is covered by the FSCS up to the maximum compensation limit. So any claim could be fully covered in the UK. Ireland As was widely reported last week, the Irish Government has now offered a 100 per cent guarantee to all money held in Irish bank accounts. This will cover the two Irish banks that offer savings accounts in the UK, effectively giving British saver more protection that is available under our own statutory scheme. Bank of Ireland - this did operate a top up scheme, but this is now no longer necessary as savers would be able to reclaim the full value of thier deposits from the Irish Government. Bank of Irelands is the bank behind the Post Office savings accounts, plus Bristol & West International. Anglo Irish Bank - this also guarantees 100 per cent of deposits, although again any claim would have to be made to the Irish Government. Allied Irish Bank - this too offers the same protection as the Anglo Irish and the Bank of Ireland. Cyprus Bank of Cyprus - this too operates a "top-up" scheme. So savers would have to claim their first €20,000 in Cyprus and apply to a top-up from the FSCS. Laiki Bank, this has been another top-paying account in recent years, and is operated by the Marfin Popular Bank, another Cypriot company. Again savers would have to claim their first €20,000 in Cyprus and for those who held more on deposit then seek redress from the FSCS. The Netherlands The Netherlands has recently improved its compensation scheme and now guarantees the first €38,000 of customers' deposits. There are two Dutch banks operating in the UK. ING Direct - this also operates a passport scheme, so savers would have to claim under the Dutch scheme first. Triodos Bank - also operates a passport scheme, so again the first €38,000 must be claimed in The Netherlands. Both the TD Waterhouse Bank and AkBank are also listed with the FSCS for top-up payments although neither operate large-scale deposit accuonts in the UK. Belgium Fortis Bank - this also operates a top-up arrangement, but under Belgian rules just the first €20,000 is protected so those with more would need to make another claim with the FSCS. COMMENT: Word is out there, that the Irish Banks are near insolvent and that the Irish Govt will not be able to fulfil it guarantee should any Bank fail. ICICI Bank (Indian) is offering a top notch rate of 7.20 percent - anyone out there able to vouch for this bank? -- DEV BOREM KORUM. Gabe Menezes. London.
