Fair enough - but it is clear from the papers today that many financial journalists put money into Icesave, as did many local authorities. I still have money in ICICI and am not worried about that at all because it is fully covered by the FSCS £50K compensation scheme, exactly the same as if it was in Birmingham Midshires or Principality.
Rert.
We should not be bailing out people who were speculative enough to invest in Icesave. Like me, those people must surely have done a little homework beforehand and must have known that it wasn't subscribed to the £35000 UK government compensation scheme. Unlike me they must have been comfortable with the risks involved in making that higher risk investment - which is fair enough. But if someone knowingly enters into a high risk investment, and it goes wrong, they should not be rescued by uk tax payers.
Lots of us have lost money on the stock market this week and take it on the chin or (jump out of high rise windows). We don't expect the government to compensate our losses.
Why did Darling bail out the Icesave investors?
tonyjeffs
Watch Mary Poppins to get the explanation. We're within spitting distance of a run on banks the world over. It could be that one child wanting his ha'penny back could start it. Darling can't afford the risk that the kid is amongst the Icesave depositors.
FoFP
Iceland is not in the EU but was considering joining the EURO
Iceland IS in SCHENGEN , this means everybody can flee to the continent overnight, no questions asked !!
That was a clever move !
Try to get some cash back then ;-)
I agree with that assessment. I don't think that the Gov't were overly concerned with Icesave savers. What they were concerned with was UK savers seeing other savers losing their money, might just start taking their savings out and sticking it under their beds - which would only have made the financial situation worse. They have taken this action to 'steady the nerves' of UK savers in general.
Whatever the reason, I'm mightily relieved! I'm just wondering, however, how long the Icelandic gov't is going to keep us waiting until it announces that Landsbanki is insolvent. Until it does that, the compensation scheme cannot swing into action.
Ret.
Well my money is running to NS&I. Unfortunately it doesn't look like you can transfer ISAs there. Ironically I'm taking my money out of the banks and depositing it with NS&I so that the government can lend it back to the banks.
I've actually wondered whether the government should just "transfer" icesave deposits to income bonds/Investment account or cash isas.
Tim.
Just like the possibility that endowment policies would not pay out their full value was "laughable"?
I did a little homework, here is he info from the FSCS
There are arguments both ways. I'll admit up front that I'm biassed here, but the UK govt allowed Icesave to trade here on the basis of the Icelandic govt's guarantee of which our govt must have approved and been happy. So it falls in my eyes, at least in part, to our government to sort out the mess which they (through the regulators) have allowed.
Just imagine what japesters or terrorists could do with mobile phones and four or five flashmob events outside banks. The world is on a knife edge right now.
Some Icelandic assets have been frozen here. It's down to the lawyers now...
FoFP
The Daily Mash "Banks to Lend You Your Own Money!" headline was essentially just the facts. The government has put at risk 25 grad per taxpayer just to save some deadbeat banks. Let's just hope we don't need that capital beffore the crisis is over...
FoFP
Oh. Oh. I know one!
"Just like the idea that house prices would go dowwn was laughable".
FoFP
That settles it. I'm shopping at Asda in future.
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