deposit accounts

[janela]

Does anyone know whether putting your money into a foreign bank gives you the same protection that is now given (since the Northern Rock fiasco) when depositing into an England Bank. And in any case, how do you know whether the bank you are with is English anyway. Abbey for example is now owned by Santander which is Spanish, how do people who have deposits with Abbey fare if it gets into difficulties. There are some very good interest rates arond just now, but most of them are with banks that are Scandanavian

[dzug]

Yes you have the same protection.

The only slight 'problem' is that if the guarantee ever gets invoked it may take a bit longer to get your money as the guarantee is arranged differently.

If it happens with any bank the payout isn't going to be instant anyway - the admin involved will take months.

[Ethel]

Do you mean a foreign owned bank operating in the UK?

Or opening a bank account abroad?

[fredpuli47]

Banks that deal with the general public,' High Street banks' whether they are foreign owned or not, are incorporated under and are bound by English law. The local version is a subsidiary company but legally English So, to that extent they are all the same. What used to be 'the Midland' is now the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) but is just as British as the Midland Bank was in the old days.

If you are thinking of having a bank account abroad, that bank abroad , whether it be British owned or not, is governed by the banking laws, practices and codes of the country it is in. So Barclays in France looks outwardly like any Barclays here and is, indeed, part of Barclays Bank's group, but it's incorporated in France and all its practices and any codes and laws that apply to it are French practices, codes and laws not British ones.That applies to any 'guarantees' that may exist.

I can't think why you'd be worried. There's no comparison between the big banks abroad and a tiny (in finance terms) business like Northern Rock. Societe Generale took a hit of billions and that hardly registerer with them !

[ceedee1951]

I have an account with Abbey & Icici banks. These are both foreign owned. Both are regulated by the Financial Services Authority and guarantee monies upto �33000. If you are contemplating opening an account with a bank in a foreign country, most countries have some sort of regulation, as the UK. You would have to find this out from the bank you intend opening an account with and get it in writing!!