FOAK: Icelandic Banks

Looking around for somewhere to stick the proceeds of the house sale, I
notice that Kaupthing Bank seems to offer far and away the highest
interest rates.

It's my understanding that the Icelandic economy is a bit ropey, plus I
tend towards the "If it's too good to be true ..." principle.

What say the font? Avoid?

 

Some of the Icelandic banks are registered in London and regulated by
the FSA which means that if they go titsup your money is protected.
Probably a good idea to avoid the others.

 

<fx:marks thread 'interesting'>

What sort of rates ar eyou looking at? Best I could find for a UK bank
using various comparison sites was about 6.7%.

 

err, are you totally sure?

I may have misinterpreted the rules, but my understanding is that if
they are registered with the FSA they have to /offer/ a guarantee that
the money is safe, up to a limit, but the FSA does not actively ensure
that they do so. i.e. if they go titsup and can't pay back their
creditors, the FSA will just go - oh, naughty foreign bank, we're
revoking your FSA accredited status, but the UK government are not
liable for the loss.

I'm happy to be proved wrong, as it's not my area.

 

ok - which is completely seperate from being registered with the FSA.

 

Phew. For a moment there I thought this thread was going to be about
fishing quotas.

 

Well, Selvogsbanki is looking quite good these days, the Dogger
bank..................

 

Thank cod for that.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

 

ITYF that along with ICICI and Firstsave they are registered in the UK,
your first £35,000 is secure per person per institution




e.g.

<http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/business_money/how+safe+are+your+s
avings/1697147>

"With a UK bank, the first £35,000 of deposits is covered. That's also
true of a foreign bank operating in the UK as a subsidiary - as is the
case at the moment with, Kaupthing Edge."

I'm not sure that Icesave gives the same guarantee

So, the trick it so spread it around in amounts less than £35,000 (don't
forget the interest)

So - Put 33k in each of the above in separate accounts with yourself and
SOH

more here

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

and here

http://boards.thisismoney.co.uk/tim/index.jsp

etc ...

 

For a foreign bank to do business in the UK, surely they have to be
registered, no?

 

There you go - site has just been updated

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/safe-savings#foreign

 

Indeed and, in this case, security is probably more important than out
and out return.

I don't do impulsive where money is concerned

I may dip in up to the compensation limit but then, I wouldn't put more
than that in a single institution anyway.