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Category: Savings
Find out where your bank or building society is licenced, and what deposit protection guarantees you'll get if they go bust.
Most UK banks are licenced here; however, some are EU banks operating under a "passport" licence scheme.
As well as this, banks and building societies operating in the crown dependencies of Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey will have different compensation limits to that offered by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
UK Crown Dependencies:
Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey
BM Savings
The Co-operative Bank plc
Guernsey
Guernsey Jersey
Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey
UK Note: NS&I products sold via the Post Office are 100% backed by HM Treasury
Isle of Man Jersey
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects cash investors up to £85,000 per person per UK Banking Licence. So in order to be fully protected, you should have no more than £85,000 with any one banking licence.
Each individual building society has its own banking licence (which means that each one has its own £85,000 protection limit).
Fast payment rules have applied to banks, building societies and credit unions from 31 December 2010. This means that the FSCS will pay out compensation within 20 business days of the default of an institution.
Pre-Paid Cards
The FSCS does not cover this type of arrangement. If the issuer of a pre-paid card goes bust, no money held on their pre-paid cards will be protected.
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Banks regulated in other European Economic Area (EEA) member states can operate in the UK without UK regulation.
This is called 'passporting' and means that the banks are regulated by the home country's regulator and covered by its compensation scheme.
With effect from 1 January 2011, UK, EU and EEA deposit protection has been unified under the terms of the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive. This means there is a Europe-wide minimum of €100,000 protection per individual per bank.
The Ireland Deposit Guarantee Scheme applies to all Irish deposit institutions and covers the first €100,000 per person, per banking licence.
However, if you have a fixed term account that you opened between the 1 February 2010 and 28 March 2013 you may get additional cover from the Eligible Guarantee Scheme (EGS).
The EGS is applicable to Allied Irish Bank, Anglo Irish Bank Corporation Limited, Bank of Ireland, Educational BS, Irish Life & Permanent and Irish Nationwide BS.
If you opened a fixed term account with one of these providers after they joined the EGS scheme, 100% of your savings are guaranteed for up to 5 years. The EGS is now closed to new liabilities. From 29 March 2013 any new deposit accounts are subject to the normal rules under the Ireland Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
100% of the total of all qualifying deposits up to a maximum of €100,000 via the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
First £50,000 per individual claimant per Licenced institution via the Guernsey Banking Deposit Compensation Scheme.
Depositors' compensation scheme (DCS) that compensates up to £50,000 of net deposits per individual depositor.
Depositors Protection Scheme. Individual depositors are protected up to £50,000 per person per Jersey Banking Group.
Compensation limits are not payable for each savings account you have with a particular bank, but for the total amount you hold with them.
It doesn't matter who your bank is owned by so much as whether the banking licence is shared with other brands in the same group that will affect your compensation entitlement.
For example, in the UK Halifax and Bank of Scotland are under the same banking licence, so you can only get £85,000 across the two brands under the terms of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (or £170,000 for joint accounts). But NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, although both owned by RBS, have separate banking licences, so you would be covered by up to £85,000 for each bank.
Banks based outside the European Economic Area (EEA) that offer savings accounts in the UK can only do so through a UK subsidiary directly authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Being directly authorised by the PRA also means that they come fully under the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme which, as far as savers are concerned, means that they are the same as any other UK bank.
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The figures and details shown are obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The accuracy and completeness of any information cannot be guaranteed, however, and no warranty or representation is given. Due to the recent mergers and acquisitions in the finance sector individuals are advised to check specific conditions with individual banks and institutions as joint licence compensation limits can be dependent upon the dates when individual accounts are opened.
Disclaimer: This information is intended solely to provide guidance and is not financial advice. Moneyfacts will not be liable for any loss arising from your use or reliance on this information. If you are in any doubt, Moneyfacts recommends you obtain independent financial advice.