Who Owns Whom? UK Banking

If a bank or building society in the UK goes bust, savers’ deposits can typically expect to be protected up to a maximum of £85,000 per bank by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). There are, however, instances when this will not be the case.

If you hold funds with an offshore bank, these will be protected by the local compensation scheme. Banks that are based outside the UK that accept deposit from UK customers must set up a subsidiary that is authorised by the UK regulators.

It is also important to remember that compensation under the FSCS is limited to £85,000 per banking licence, rather than per account. A number of bank and building society brands are actually owned by the same banking group and operate under the same UK banking licence, with compensation levels being affected accordingly.

The table below reveals which banks and savings account providers operate under which banking license, helping savers work out to what degree their savings are protected by the FSCS.