MONEY experts have urged islanders not to panic amid mounting fears for the global economy and ‘doomsday’ media coverage.

Without the safety net of a depositor protection scheme, Guernsey savers are worried about the security of their money.  One woman was so concerned she said she was considering stashing her cash under her mattress to keep it out of harm’s way.

Those concerns about bank stability were increased by Prime Minister Gordon Brown saying that he  would do ‘whatever it takes’ to protect people’s savings but declined to offer an unlimited guarantee, as has happened in Ireland.

He did point out, however, that the government had not let any UK depositor lose out. Also, while Wall Street and other world markets were rocked yesterday after news that the US Congress had rejected a $700bn bailout plan to rescue paralysed banks, the Channel Island Stock Exchange is escaping relatively unscathed.

CISX chief executive Tamara Menteshvili (pictured) said the exchange was sheltered from the credit crunch as it was a niche market.