Depositor protection schemes

Home Savings Accounts Guides Depositor protection schemes – what would happen if a bank goes bust

Leanne Macardle

Editor

Published: 06/02/2019

At a glance

All banks and building societies listed by Moneyfacts are signed up to a depositor protection scheme that would cover your money in the event the institution in question went bust.
This applies to EU and offshore banks as well as UK-based entities.
Most UK savers will be covered under the UK scheme (the Financial Services Compensation Scheme), which covers up to £85,000 per person per banking licence.
Find out where your bank is licenced, and the level of protection you’ll receive accordingly, by reading this guide.

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After the financial crisis in 2008 it’s understandable that savers can still be nervous about the safety of their hard-earned cash. To prevent the financial collapse of a bank from having disastrous effects on your savings, banks and building societies offering their services to UK savers must be signed up to a depositor protection scheme, which safeguards the money in your bank account (up to a certain amount) against their financial troubles.

Most banks in the UK are licensed here in the UK, but some are EU banks that are operating under a ‘passport’ licence scheme, and will have different compensation rules. This passport scheme will still cover EU banks until the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020. Additionally, offshore 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. These are not affected by the UK leaving the EU.

To find out where your bank or building society is licensed, and what depositor protection guarantees you'll get if they go bust, we’ve compiled a list.

Depositor protection schemes; what and how much is covered?

The depositor compensation schemes have different rules and limits in differing areas. You can find the relevant depositor compensation schemes by jurisdiction below.

United Kingdom

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects your cash deposits up to £85,000 for a sole account and £170,000 for a joint account. Some banks and building societies share their banking licence and protection limit across multiple brands and subsidiaries. When this is the case the protection limit is shared as one maximum across all the brands.

The only exception to this rule is if you have a temporary high balance, for example though a house sale or inheritance, then up to £1 million per person per banking licence is protected. Up to 1 February 2021 a temporary high balance is covered for 12 months. After this the maximum period reduces to 6 months.

If you have borrowed from the bank or building society, your savings will not be used to reduce or repay your debt. Separate arrangements will be made for this.

European Economic Area

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. The passporting scheme will end on 31 December 2020 when all banks operating in the UK must be authorised by the UK authorities.

EU and EEA deposit protection is unified under the terms of the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive. This means there is a Europe-wide maximum of €100,000 protection per individual per bank.

The countries covered by this rule are:

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy

Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden

Gibraltar

If you have money deposited in a bank or building society in Gibraltar, then your money will be protected by the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme. This protection is up to €100,000 deposited per bank licence for a single account and up to €200,000 for a joint account.

If you have funds over this amount they should to deposited with a bank or building society that has a separate licence to ensure all your money is protected.

If you have also borrowed from the failed bank or building society, any money you have saved with the bank or building society can be taken off the amount you are owe to reduce or clear this debt before receiving your compensation.

Guernsey

The first £50,000 per person or £100,000 for joint accounts per bank or building society brand are protected under the Guernsey Banking Deposit Compensation Scheme. If you have funds over this amount they must to deposited with a bank or building society that has a separate licence to ensure all your money is protected.

if you have also borrowed from the failed bank or building society any money you have saved with the bank or building society can be taken off the amount you are owe to reduce or clear this debt before receiving your compensation.

Isle of Man

Through the Isle of Man’s Depositors’ Compensation Scheme (DCS) up to £50,000 per individual depositor for each bank or building society licence is protected. Those with a joint account will have £100,000 protected per brank or building society licence under the scheme.

If you have funds over this amount they should be deposited with a bank or building society that has a separate licence to ensure all your money is protected.

If you have borrowed from the bank or building society, your savings will not be used to reduce or repay your debt. Separate arrangements will be made for this.

Jersey

Individual depositors have up to £50,000 of their money protected per bank or building society licence under the Jersey Depositors Protection Scheme. Those with a joint account will have £100,000 of their money protected per bank or building society brand. If an individual depositor has over £50,000, the additional amount should be with a bank or building society that has a seperate licence in order for all their money to be protected.

If you have borrowed from the bank or building society, your savings will not be used to reduce or repay your debt. Separate arrangements will be made for this.

It's not who owns your bank, but the banking licence that's most important

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, but rather 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'll only be covered for £85,000 across the two brands under the terms of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (or £150,000 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.

What about non-UK and EU banks?

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.

Banks regulated in other European Economic Area (EEA) member states can operate in the UK with limited UK regulation.

This is called 'passporting' and means that the banks are regulated by their home country's regulator and covered by its compensation scheme. Until the end of the Brexit Transition period which goes up to 31 December 2020, passporting is still a valid way of doing banking business in the UK from the EU. After this, all banks must be authorised in the UK to operate here, and so will be covered by the FSCS.

EU and EEA deposit protection is 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.

Are there any exceptions to these limits?

With UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme there is an exception for temporary high balances. Examples might include funds received temporarily due to a dramatic life event, such as:

Buying or selling a new property
Equity release funds from your main residence
Funds from an insurance policy
Compensation from a personal injury claim or death
State benefits for disability
Compensation received for unfair dismissal or wrongful conviction
Voluntary or compulsory redundancy
Marriage, civil partnership, divorce or dissolution of civil partnership
Retirement benefits received at retirement
Benefits paid on death
Inheritance
Monies received from a deceased’s estate held by a personal representative

Temporary high balances are covered for 12 months from the date the money is deposited into the account. The 12-month period is available up to the 1 February 2021, after this the period of cover reduces to 6 months. This should give enough time to redistribute the funds across banks to protect the full amount.

Other savings that are not covered by the protection scheme include any funds that are relevant to a conviction for money laundering, or where the account holder has not been identified by the bank or building society under the money laundering regulations.

Note

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.

A

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
AA Financial Services	Bank of Ireland (UK) plc for savings accounts Family Investments for cash ISAs	UK	Bank of Ireland Post Office® Money
Adam and Company	Royal Bank of Scotland	UK	Royal Bank of Scotland
AgriBank	AgriBank PLC	Malta
AIB	AIB Group (UK) plc	UK	Allied Irish Bank (GB)
Aldermore	Aldermore Bank plc	UK
Allica Bank	Allica Bank Limited	UK
Allied Irish Bank (GB)	AIB Group (UK) plc	UK	AIB
Al Rayan Bank	Al Rayan Bank plc	UK
Arbuthnot Direct	Arbuthnot Latham & Co Ltd	UK	Arbuthnot Latham
Arbuthnot Latham	Arbuthnot Latham & Co. Ltd	UK	Arbuthnot Direct
Atom Bank	Atom Bank plc	UK
Axis Bank	Axis Bank UK	UK

B

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Bank and Clients	Bank and Clients PLC	UK
Bank of Baroda	Bank of Baroda (UK) Limited	UK
Bank of China (UK)	Bank of China (UK) Limited	UK
Bank of Ireland UK	Bank of Ireland (UK) plc	UK	Post Office Money® AA Financial Services
Bank of London and The Middle East	Bank of London and The Middle East plc	UK
Bank of Scotland	Bank of Scotland plc	UK	Birmingham Midshires Halifax
Barclays Bank	Barclays Bank UK plc	UK
Barclays Bank (Offshore Banking)	Barclays Bank plc	Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey
Bath Building Society	Bath Investment and Building Society	UK
Beehive Money	Nottingham Building Society	UK	Nottingham Building Society
Beverley Building Society	Beverley Building Society	UK
BFC Bank	BFC Bank Limited	UK
Birmingham Midshires	Bank of Scotland plc	UK	Bank of Scotland Halifax
Britannia	The Co-operative Bank plc	UK	The Co-operative Bank Smile
Brown Shipley	Brown Shipley & Co Limited	UK
Buckinghamshire Building Society	Buckinghamshire Building Society	UK

C

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
CAF Bank	Charities Aid Foundation	UK
Cahoot	Santander UK plc	UK	Santander
Cambridge & Counties Bank	Cambridge & Counties Bank	UK
Cambridge Building Society	Cambridge Building Society	UK
Castle Trust	Castle Trust Capital plc	UK
Cater Allen Private Bank	Cater Allen Ltd	UK
Charity Bank	The Charity Bank Ltd	UK
Charter Savings Bank	Charter Court Financial Services Ltd	UK
Chelsea Building Society	Yorkshire Building Society	UK	Yorkshire BS
C Hoare & Co	C Hoare & Co	UK
Chorley & District Building Society	Chorley & District Building Society	UK
Citibank	Citibank UK Limited	UK
Close Brothers Savings	Close Brothers Limited	UK
Clydesdale Bank	Clydesdale Bank plc	UK	Yorkshire Bank Virgin Money
Conister Bank	Conister Bank Limited	Isle of Man
The Co-operative Bank	The Co-operative Bank plc	UK Guernsey	Britannia Smile
Coutts & Co	Coutts & Co	UK
Coventry Building Society	Coventry Building Society	UK	Stroud & Swindon BS
Credit Suisse	Credit Suisse (UK) Ltd	UK
Cumberland Building Society	Cumberland Building Society	UK
Cynergy Bank	Cynergy Bank Limited	UK

D

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Danske Bank	Northern Bank Limited	UK
Darlington Building Society	Darlington Building Society	UK
Dudley Building Society	Dudley Building Society	UK

E

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Earl Shilton Building Society	Earl Shilton Building Society	UK
Ecology Building Society	Ecology Building Society	UK
EFG Private Bank	EFG Private Bank Ltd	UK

F

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Family Building Society	National Counties Building Society	UK	National Counties Building Society
FCMB Bank	FCMB Bank (UK) Ltd	UK
first direct	HSBC UK Bank plc	UK	HSBC
FirstSave	FBN bank (UK) Ltd	UK
Ford Money	FCE Bank plc	UK
Furness Building Society	Furness Building Society	UK

G

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Gatehouse Bank	Gatehouse Bank plc	UK

H

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Habib Bank Zurich Plc	Habib Bank AG Zurich	UK
Halifax	Bank of Scotland plc	UK	Bank of Scotland Birmingham Midshires
Hampshire Trust Bank	Hampshire Trust Bank Plc	UK
Handelsbanken	Handelsbanken plc	UK
Hanley Economic Building Society	Hanley Economic Building Society	UK
Harpenden Building Society	Harpenden Building Society	UK
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society	Hinckley & Rugby Building Society	UK
Hodge Bank	Julian Hodge Bank Ltd	UK
HSBC	HSBC UK Bank plc	UK	first direct
HSBC Expat	HSBC Bank plc	Jersey Guernsey Isle of Man
HSBC Private Bank	HSBC Private Bank (UK) Limited	UK

I

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
ICICI Bank UK	ICICI Bank UK plc	UK
Ikano Bank	Ikano Bank AB (publ)	Sweden
Investec Bank (Channel Islands) Ltd	Investec Bank (Channel Islands) Ltd	Guernsey Jersey
Investec Bank plc	Investec Bank plc	UK	Moneybox
Ipswich Building Society	Ipswich Building Society	UK
Isle of Man Bank	The Royal Bank of Scotland International	Isle of Man	NatWest International

J

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
JN Bank	JN Bank UK Limited	UK
J P Morgan	JP Morgan Europe Ltd	UK

K

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Kent Reliance	One Savings Bank plc	UK
Kleinwort Hambros	SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank (CI) Limited	Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey

L

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Leeds Building Society	Leeds Building Society	UK
Leek United Building Society	Leek United Building Society	UK
Lloyds Bank	Lloyds Bank plc	UK	Scottish Widows Bank Lloyds Bank Private Banking Cheltenham & Gloucester
Lloyds Bank International	Lloyds Bank Capital Markets plc	Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey
Lloyds Bank Private Banking	Lloyds Bank plc	UK	Scottish Widows Bank Lloyds Bank Cheltenham & Gloucester
Loughborough Building Society	Loughborough Building Society	UK

M

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Manchester Building Society	Manchester Building Society	UK
Mansfield Building Society	Mansfield Building Society	UK
Marcus by Goldman Sachs®	Goldman Sachs International Bank	UK	Saga
Market Harborough Building Society	Market Harborough Building Society	UK
Marks & Spencer Bank	Marks & Spencer Financial Services plc	UK
Marsden Building Society	Marsden Building Society	UK
Masthaven Bank	Masthaven Bank Limited	UK
The Melton Building Society	The Melton Mowbray Building Society	UK
Metro Bank Plc	Metro Bank Plc	UK
Moneybox	N/A	UK	Investec Bank for Notice Savings OakNorth Bank Ltd for lifetime ISAs
Moneycorp Bank	Moneycorp Bank Ltd	Gibraltar
Monmouthshire Building Society	Monmouthshire Building Society	UK
Monzo Bank	Monzo Bank Limited	UK
My Community Bank	Brent Shrine Credit Union	UK

N

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
National Counties Building Society	National Counties Building Society	UK	Family Building Society
National Savings & Investments	An executive agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer	100% backed by HM Treasury
Nationwide Building Society	Nationwide Building Society	UK
NatWest	National Westminster Bank plc	UK
NatWest Offshore	The Royal Bank of Scotland International plc	Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey	Isle of Man Bank
Nedbank Private Wealth	Nedbank Private Wealth Limited	UK Isle of Man
Newbury Building Society	Newbury Building Society	UK
Newcastle Building Society	Newcastle Building Society	UK
Nottingham Building Society	Nottingham Building Society	UK	Beehive Money

O

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
OakNorth Bank	OakNorth Bank PLC	UK	Moneybox
Oxbury Bank	Oxbury Bank Plc	UK

P

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Paragon Bank	Paragon Bank plc	UK
PCF Bank	PCF Bank Ltd	UK
Penrith Building Society	Penrith Building Society	UK
Post Office® Money	Bank of Ireland (UK) plc	UK	Bank of Ireland UK AA Financial Services
Principality Building Society	Principality Building Society	UK
Progressive Building Society	Progressive Building Society	UK
Punjab National Bank	Punjab National Bank (International) plc	UK

Q

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
QIB (UK)	QIB (UK) Plc	UK

R

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
RCI Bank UK	RCI Bank UK Ltd	UK
Redwood Bank	Redwood Bank Limited	UK
Reliance Bank	Reliance Bank Limited	UK
Royal Bank of Canada (CI)	Royal Bank of Canada (Channel Islands) Ltd	Guernsey Jersey
Royal Bank of Scotland	Royal Bank of Scotland plc	UK	Adam & Company

S

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Saffron Building Society	Saffron Building Society	UK
Saga	Goldman Sachs International Bank	UK	Marcus by Goldman Sachs
Sainsbury's Bank	Sainsbury's Bank plc	UK
Santander	Santander UK plc	UK	Cahoot
Santander International	Santander Financial Services plc	Isle of Man Jersey
Scottish Building Society	Scottish Building Society	UK
Scottish Widows Bank	Lloyds Bank plc	UK	Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank Private Banking Mayfair Private Bank, Worldwide Service Cheltenham & Gloucester
Secure Trust Bank	Secure Trust Bank plc	UK
Sensible Savings	The Access Bank UK Limited	UK
Shawbrook Bank	Shawbrook Bank Limited	UK
Skipton Building Society	Skipton Building Society	UK
Skipton International Limited	Skipton International Limited	Guernsey
SmartSave	Chetwood Financial Limited	UK
Smile	The Co-operative Bank plc	UK	Britannia The Co-operative Bank
Stafford Railway Building Society	Stafford Railway Building Society	UK
Standard Bank Offshore	Standard Bank Offshore	Isle of Man Jersey
Starling Bank	Starling Bank Limited	UK
State Bank of India	State Bank of India	UK
Swansea Building Society	Swansea Building Society	UK

T

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Tandem Bank	Tandem Bank Ltd	UK
Teachers Building Society	Teachers Building Society	UK
Tesco Bank	Tesco Personal Finance plc	UK
Tipton & Coseley Building Society	Tipton & Coseley Building Society	UK
Triodos Bank	Triodos Bank UK Limited	UK
TSB	TSB Bank plc	UK
Turkish Bank (UK)	Turkish Bank (UK) Ltd	UK

U

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
UBL UK	United National Bank Limited	uk
Ulster Bank	Ulster Bank Limited	UK
Union Bank of India	Union Bank of India (UK) Ltd	UK
United Trust Bank UK	United Trust Bank Limited	UK
Unity Trust Bank	Unity Trust Bank plc	UK

V

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Vanquis Bank	Vanquis Bank Ltd	UK
Vernon Building Society	Vernon Building Society	UK
Virgin Money	Clydesdale Bank plc	UK	Yorkshire Bank Clydesdale Bank

W

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Weatherbys Bank Limited	Weatherbys Bank Limited	UK
Wesleyan Bank	Wesleyan Bank Limited	UK
West Brom Building Society	West Brom Building Society	UK
Wyelands Bank	Wyelands Bank Plc	UK

Y

Name

Banking Licence

Protection Scheme

Brands under the same licence

Yorkshire Bank

Clydesdale Bank plc

Clydesdale Bank

Virgin Money

Yorkshire Building Society

Chelsea BS

Z

Name	Banking Licence	Protection Scheme	Brands under the same licence
Zenith Bank	Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd	UK
Zopa	Zopa Bank Ltd	UK

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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.

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Legal

Depositor protection schemes

What would happen if a bank goes bust?

Leanne Macardle

At a glance

Depositor protection schemes; what and how much is covered?

United Kingdom

European Economic Area

Gibraltar

Guernsey

Isle of Man

Jersey

It's not who owns your bank, but the banking licence that's most important

What about non-UK and EU banks?

Are there any exceptions to these limits?

Note

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

At a glance