Ireland covers British Post Office savings

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http://www.examiner.ie/irishexaminer/pa ... qqqx=1.asp

By Dan Buckley
SAVERS with the British Post Office have been given total protection for their deposits under Ireland’s bank guarantee scheme while the protection for Irish Post Office banking customers is limited to €100,000.


Several British Post Office savings accounts are run by Bank of Ireland, which is one of six banks given protection under the €400bn guarantee. However the Irish Post Office’s banking arm, Postbank is not among the banks to benefit.

The Post Office savings of British troops are also likely to be guaranteed by the Irish taxpayer as the British PO offers members of the armed forces a specific package of banking as well as postal services.


Savers with overseas subsidiaries of Irish banks will also benefit from the government’s all-embracing guarantee scheme announced on Monday.

While the British government has limited British bank deposit guarantees to stg£50,000 (€63,222), savers at the British Post Office now have 100% protection for their deposits following the decision by the Irish government to guarantee bank accounts.

“I can confirm that all Post Office savings held with Bank of Ireland are covered by the Irish government’s new arrangement,” said Hayley Fowell of the British Post Office. “This covers our Instant Saver account, Growth Bonds, Five Year Saver and Cash Isa.”

Bank of Ireland spokesperson Anne Matthews said: “British Post Office deposits are on the balance sheet of the Bank of Ireland and are therefore covered under this scheme. The Government guarantee also covers all our subsidiaries and all jurisdictions.”

Bank of Ireland (BoI) has at least 1.5 million customers with the British Post Office, though not all are depositors. BoI also plans to offer an online savings account to savers in Britain.

British savers at Anglo Irish Bank will also benefit from the Government’s guarantee. The bank offers two ‘best-buy’ savings accounts in Britain, according to Michelle Slade of Moneyfacts, the financial data provider based in Norwich.

“British banks have reason to be worried now as Anglo Irish, in particular, offer some very competitive savings products. Their seven-day notice account is top of the best buy league and, with the 100% guarantee by the Irish Government, should attract savers,” she said.

Ms Slade said a high deposit rate and total guarantee could see depositors moving their savings from British banks to Anglo Irish Bank.

“Its Seven-Day Notice account pays 6.55% interest, while the Easy Access deposit pays 6.4%. These accounts, which have a maximum balance of stg£2m and are operated by phone and post, were already ‘best buys’, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they saw an influx of customers.”

The only other institutions to offer a 100% savings guarantee in Britain include the nationalised Northern Rock and National Savings & Investments.

Until last week, British Post Office customers had only the same protection as other British savers — they would get back the first £35,000 of their deposits if the bank went under.