I did, seemed a sensible move. Not a huge amount but worth doing if something unpleasant happens to a bank or building society
I recently asked Barclays the question 'If you have to have a minimum of £100k in savings to qualify for premier banking then who insures the bit above £85k?'
They dont but assure me many customers have significant amounts over £85k with them so wondered if anyone here splits cash amongst banks to make sure they are £85k and below or messes about opening multiple accounts?
I did, seemed a sensible move. Not a huge amount but worth doing if something unpleasant happens to a bank or building society
I Split my savings up to bring it below the threshold highly unlikely a bank will go under but the way things are these days you never know
I asked Lloyds a similar question regarding offset mortgages, as the amounts in offsets can be way over £86k, they have never given me a definite answer
You could always invest the excess into shares to maintain full cover on the £85k in cash, otherwise I'd invest it elsewhere as the risk is small but easily avoidable.
I don't think so. My understanding is the limit is £85k per person, per registered institution (which as rightly pointed out earlier doesn't mean per individual bank!). It's not per account. So yes both your protection (£170k total) can apply to a joint account, but you're still limited in total to £85k each across all your accounts with that provider. So I don't think you can triple it.
£85k? Savings? The stuff of dreams….
I would never go over the £85k, why take the risk however small.
That said I'd never hold that much cash ... I'd invest it ...
I’ve had premier for years, they just gave it to me. I’ve never had anywhere close to £100k invested or in account with them.
If the FSCS limit bothers you either put some into Barclays stockbrokers (I assume that counts) or pay the fee for the premier account (I think that’s still an option).
But honestly - I’m not sure premier offers much of value.
"Bite my shiny metal ass."
- Bender Bending Rodríguez
Had premier with a different bank for a few years and the end result is I should have stayed with first direct.
Apart from buying a house I’ve never really had anything like £100k with them. I wouldn’t breach the FSCS threshold even if I had that kind of money just to get the banking equivalent of tescos finest.
Never bothered with it, but would certainly never risk over £85k even by a few £k as just not worth the risk when it’s so easy to avoid.
My IFA told me I was sitting on too much cash as a just-in-case fund, so all now invested elsewhere & can take from my ISA if there is a surprise greater than my cash holdings; never happened so far & my only instant cash need is likely in response to a call from the AD for an LV!
Cash deposit platforms like Flagstone allow you to split your savings whilst keeping within the FSCS. No current accounts but plenty of choice for savings.
Just be aware that with 85k invested, any interest accrued is not protected in the event of failure.
Could be quite a sum with interest paid annually at let's say 5.2%.
I would keep the total around 82k for this reason if monthly interest not an option.
Last edited by genesos; 11th March 2024 at 18:39.
Since the rates have gone up I have split all my ISAs into different banks/ building soc
When I moved my ISAs last year about nine in all 2 year fixed they range from 4.6 % up to 5.4%
<3% now.
https://www.nsandi.com/isa
Not forgetting that: (copied from https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sa...a/#needtoknows )
"ISA savings safety works the same as normal savings. So provided your money is in a UK-regulated bank or building society account, it's protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Its golden rule counts for cash ISAs too...
The first £85,000 per person, per financial institution is guaranteed. While that sounds simple, the exact rules are more complex – not every bank in the UK is UK-regulated and there are complicated rules involving how different banks are registered and what counts as a 'financial institution'."
So, not entirely risk free if more than £85k in one regulated institution.
Last edited by Stanford; 12th March 2024 at 22:55.
You just have to accept the risk and bank with a "too big to fail" UK bank. We use Lloyds and as a business will frequently have a lot more than 85k in it - the 85k protection sounds nice, but think what businesses, councils etc. have as cash.
If I had 85k cash, I wouldn't worry about spreading it, but would make sure it was in a bank that the UK would support if it failed.