Martin Rathbone Golf Blog

Icesave

Compensation for Icesave customers through accelerated FSCS process

(24 October 2008)

Courtesy of http://www.fscs.org.uk/

The more than 200,000 retail depositors with savings in Icesave UK, the topped up retail deposit business of the UK branch of Landsbanki, will get back their savings through an accelerated process, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme announced today.

The Government has guaranteed 100% of all deposits held by retail depositors of Icesave and has said that people will not lose their tax status for their ISAs. FSCS expects to launch the process in ten days time. Our top priorities are to give Icesave customers some certainty and to move to a speedy payout as quickly as possible.

The move comes two weeks after Icesave was declared in default by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSCS has been working closely with the FSA and HM Treasury to achieve the best approach to repaying retail depositors of Icesave. Subject to putting the final arrangements in place, FSCS expects to do this through an accelerated electronic process. This is expected to result in quicker payments and less inconvenience for retail depositors.

FSCS is putting in place a system that means retail depositors of the bank should be able to receive their savings through an electronic payment into their linked accounts. This will happen in stages. FSCS will write to retail depositors of the bank to detail how the process will work. FSCS will then contact customers again with instructions on how to complete a short electronic process to finish the transfer. The process will be phased to manage the flow of payments through the system and for security reasons.

In parallel, the authorities are also continuing to explore whether alternative solutions might provide an even better option for payout.

Loretta Minghella, Chief Executive of the FSCS, said: “We recognise that Icesave’s customers have been anxious about their savings. We would like to thank them for their patience.

“We have been working hard to establish a way of compensating retail depositors of Icesave without the need for a paper-based application process. We will be contacting retail depositors to tell them how the transfer process will work and when they can access the system. The automated payment process is expected to be in place in ten days time and the first payments are scheduled to start in the second week of November. We expect to offer compensation to the vast majority of retail depositors in November.”

Tags: General Gossip //