Petition to Queen a precursor to legal fight
Saturday 21st February 2009, 9:29AM GMT.
LANDSBANKI depositors will consider legal action in their fight to get their savings back if a petition to the Queen fails.
Jansen Bewey of the Landsbanki Guernsey Depositors’ Action Group said the petition was just one avenue savers were using to try to recover their money from the collapsed bank.
Asked what the group hoped to gain from the petition, Mr Bewey said: ‘As her subjects, we have the right to lay before her a petition asking for her help and protection in the fact that we have been treated unjustly with regard to the statement Gordon Brown made when he said “no Britons have been affected by the current credit crisis”.
‘Now, I was under the impression that I was a British subject so I am making a point as a British subject by asking her majesty to intervene.’
Mr Bewey, who had £90,000 with Landsbanki, said depositors had tried to work with the Guernsey government to find a solution.
‘But they don’t want to do anything,’ he said.
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How embarrassing is this for the Island and its people then. We are a crown dependency led by leaders that the general public have so little faith in they feel forced to petition HM Queen for action to resolve what should have been the elected members responsibility.
Time to give my good old, gold plated and big time overspending, mate a good shoeing once again.
It is high time the states admitted that they haven’t got much of a clue. They are elected by locals but when these locals look to them for assistance they turn their backs and play the deaf, dumb and stupid card.
I always knew that all of this was far too big for the states to play its classic old chestnut and sweep it under the carpet.
Now Her Majesty will be making enquiries. This may be just enough to have our constitution ripped from under our feet.
Good luck to the savers. Shame on you Lyndon Trott. You have damaged the Islands reputation more than you will ever appreciate. The media are loving this I bet.
I doubt even the tabloids could have elected such a bunch of fools to make up their newsworthy stories even if they had the choice.
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Hi Janson, I have been away. How does one go about signing the petition?
Do you think it may be an idea to put in a few of the savers letters fron the web site?
Regards
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Petition the House of Windsor thats like Oliver Twist asking for more lol.
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P W
I think it would be an excellent idea to put all savers on the petition. All should be given the opportunity to enclose a covering letter so that one has a real understanding of the impact that this has caused so many people.
It should be carefully catalogued with the people contemplating suicide and the elderly that have saved all their lives to leave to love ones at the top of the pile.
This Island’s Authorities and in particular our CM has acted disgracefully over all of this. I am so glad that it is gaining momentum. I can confirm that I have not lost any money from this ordeal. I don’t know anyone that has. Nevertheless it should not have happened. It has and the people that have saved in good faith are most definitely not responsible for this mismanagement.
I suspect the other 70% will materialise very soon. If not those that know they are accountable will be working around the clock with a big sweat on.
I would love the GP to ask CM what his latest take is on this development. I doubt he will be as cool, calculated and uncaring as he has been from the outset.
Next it will be the High Court. If, that is, our politicians wish to squander vast amounts of our money fighting what will inevitably be a losing battle. The costs and compensation will leave this Island with egg on its face. And skint to boot. The savers will and are entitled to 100% of their savings.
I can’t wait for the outcome!
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To: The Queen
From: LAG
RE: bullys
Dear Queen
Bigger boys took our money and wont give it back to us
from LAG
To: Lyndon
From: The Queen
RE: Dear Queen
CC: LAG
Come on now, play nice
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The first step would be to have an independent inquiry into this mess; I mean a truly independent one, not the one self-commissionned by the GFSC, which was a joke and a waiste of taxpayers’ money.
The fact is that a high street, Guernsey regulated bank failed and the GFSC must, by definition, bear some responsibility for it. Starting with requiring (yes, they even have a standard wording!) local banks to advertise a parental guarantee which, after Landsbanki’s collapse, turned out to be a mere non law-binding letter of comfort. In other words, it’s not worth the paper written on. If this is no misselling, what is?
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I understand a petition is also going to the Queen from Jersey depositors also. This can only serve to make Mr Trott and the Guernsey Government appear in an even worse light and do the Island no favours at all.
Mr Trott, do the honourable thing now before you damage your Island’s reputation irreparably, especially in the light of Gordon Brown’s statement this evening regarding a further look at tax havens in light of the economic crisis.
Contrary to what you may have wished and hoped for, Landsbanki depositors will NOT be going away.
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Mr Lucas
Well said.
A form of finance industry generated ex gratia payment to LG depositors seems more and more apropriate, especially in view of the GFSC reliance on the FSA for its decision making.
In addition the letter of comfort situation and the aceptance of the GFSC in August 2008, that they were mere words that could not be legally enforced, merely strengthens the case to do someting for the LG depositors.
JG
I’m not at all siure of Gordon Brown’s stance on tax havens. I suspect many of his pals utilise tax havens. All of this mught mean some form of wording to curb tax havens but little else.
Problem is the big boys such as the US, are wise to this, which is why they are saying that words are not enough, it is how things work out in practice that will determine whether or not Guernsey is on their list of tax havens.
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I am amazed that at the Sunday BBC phone in that the Chief Minister was allowed to ‘ambush’ the program with his grand standing, I would have thought that programs of this type are basically for members of the public to phone in and have their questions and concerned answered by the resident guests and not to listen to the usual ‘no tax payers funds will be used’.
Hopefully Mr.Trott will be brought to account soon and to be shown for what he is and that is a ‘A big fish in a small pond’, who will soon be getting his comeuppance.
The Guernsey LGDAG petition soon to be followed with that of Jersey will soon take the smirk of his face.
I fancy he will never forget the anger and response of the depositors.
SPRINGBOK
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And her reply to the petition ” Am I bothered “
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PAUL LUCAS It is common knowledge that banks in Guernsey with a parent bank in the UK have a written parental guarantee.
What I cannot understand is why many of the Landsbanki customers dont realise that this guarantee is OK provided the parent company doesnt go down.
With my limited knowledge of finance I knew this and invested wisely ie Northern Rock in Guernsey which is covered by the Uk Government.
I wasņt concerned with extra profit, I just wanted my funds to be safe.
And you all now want to use my taxes to refund your loses, you really must be joking.
Well done Mr Trott, ignore the bully boys.
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Muzeek
If you read the extract below you will see that parental guarantees are not to be relied on even if the parent is still trading.
This begs the question as to why the GFSC failed to secure letters of comfort, worded in a form to be legally binding.
This is what the GFSC said in August 2008
‘All Guernsey subsidiary banks have letters of comfort in place, which represent an expression of the intention of the parent to support the subsidiary. These letters of comfort can take several forms (ranging from general statements about ‘support’ to references to guarantees). However, no subsidiary has a parental guarantee in the sense of a legally-enforceable document and these letters do not necessarily ensure that the parent bank will support the subsidiary in times of severe crisis”
I accept most banks would support a subsidiary or branch, but its not that certain. Your funds might not be so safe after all.
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I hear Lyndon is going to meet the depositors enmasse. That’s brave or……….
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I dont see that a legal enforcable document would have helped Landsbanki depositors in this case due to the fact that the parent bank in the UK went broke.
How would that help Guernsey if there are no funds readily available anyway..
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Can somebody please help me to understand the Petitioner’s prayer to HM by answering 2 fundamental questions that nobody has yet answered for me – (1) what alleged ‘obligation’ does the States of Guernsey have towards the the savers; and (2) how can the savers be compensated without using tax payers money?
Every email I have received to date on this matter has made these points but nobody has yet explained them to me. I’d be willing to listen….
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Sam
You ask “What obligation does the States have to LG depositors?”
Legally no obligation. Morally there seems to be a growing case to help. The GFSC performance and its evidence to the Commons Committee leave much to be desired.
You ask “how can the savers be compensated without using tax payers money?”
i have frequently suggested that there could be an ex gratia payment of any shortfall. This to be funded by the local banks. Alternatively, be honest and make the proposed deposit protection scheme retrospective. As Peter Neville told the Commons Commmittee the GFSC had beenin favour of a scheme for years.
There is a problem that the CM told the same committee that Guernsey tax payers and banks did not have an appetite for paying the LG depositors. I totally agree with the comment re the taxpayer but as the banks are having an £80 million plus windfall from the taxpayer they can pay.
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Muzeek,
You “wisely invested” in Northern Rock Guernsey, eh? How hypocritical of you.
I’m a UK taxpayer and I see no reason why my taxes should be supporting depositors in other jurisdictions.
You want to use *my* taxes to make *your* funds safe, you must be joking.
I think I’m going to suggest to my MP that the UK should reduce the load on UK taxpayers by only supporting UK depositors, and let non-UK branches of Northern Rock, RBS and Lloyds/HBOS go to the wall.
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Sam
Unless I am mistaken the GFSC is under the ultimate “control” of the States. It has been negligent, that is without doubt. I work for a trust company and having looked into Landsbanki at the beginning of 2008 (following a suggestion that we invest clients’ funds with them) I discovered in 10 minutes that they were considered to be one of the two riskiest banks in the western world. Home come one of the GFSC’s many banking “analysts” didn’t pick this up? It was all over the internet, it really seems impossible that nobody at the GFSC knew of this risk rating. And if they knew then action should have been taken, either to put in place a legal gaurantee of deposits by the ultimate parent, or alternatively to warn depositors of the risks involved in having money with the bank. The fact that the “independent” review cleared the GFSC is meaningless. It was commissioned by the GFSC, involved a former regulator who I have no doubt was already known to the senior management of the GFSC, and it was always a cast iron certainty that they would be found “blameless”. How stupid do these people really think the Guernsey public are?
Whilst I’m at it, perhaps you (or anybody else for that matter) can explain to me why the GFSC is amassing millions of pounds in reserves (i.e. profits) yet still raising licence fees far in excess of inflation. I thought it should essentially be a non-profit organisation? Its website says it needs a year’s worth of income in reserves, why on earth is that? It has a bullet-proof source of income, is able to raise fees at a stroke without giving licensees any option but to pay (other than to cease trading)and yet they still want about £8 million in the bank? What for for goodness sake? That money could be put to very good use if it were to be passed up into general revenue, it’s 5 years education deficit for a start!
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Does anyone seriously expect the other banks are going to dip into their pockets to compensate those who put their money with a competitor! This is just utter naivety. Spare me the whole they have grown fat on Guernsey etc and look at the reality – it would amount to the more prudent of them (which we want to encourage) making up for the mistakes of the more rash. The simple fact is that there is no prospect of an ex gratia payment other than from taxpayers funds and there is no reason at all why those funds should be utilised for his purpose. You all have my sympathy but that is all.
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MAC
I totally agree with you but please also include National Savings and Bonds as I have funds there also.
Have a nice day.
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STEPHEN JOHN you say ” i have frequently suggested that there could be an ex gratia payment of any shortfall. This to be funded by the local banks ”
How can you honestly believe that local banks especially RBS and LLoyds, who have troubles of their own would be sympathetic.
You seem to be living on cloud cuckoo land watching pigs fly.
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Mac
One of my savings accounts was opened locally but has a a UK sort code. By a strange twist of fate I am protected by your DPS – thanks.
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>>(1) what alleged ‘obligation’ does the States of Guernsey have towards the the savers; and (2) how can the savers be compensated without using tax payers money?<<
Seriatim: None and Can’t
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Petition the queen – if those legally elected in guernsey or the UK wont support us then they can hardly cry foul later.
the chief minister meeting all depositors – i hear he is already back pedalling – his comment ‘taken out of context’ is this one of the Chief Minister’s favourite Mantras along with the scaremongering ‘tax payers money’?
Where is the moral fortitude of the Chief Minister – the claim that there was no regulatory failure is laughable – if no failure why did the bank fail – what were the states and GFSC doing.
I look forward to the and hope the broadcast is attended by as many depositors as possible both in person and by call in
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Phil
Entirely agree with your analysis of the GFSC performance re LG and its failure to apreciate anything was wrong with Northern Rock despite having a director of NR on the Commission.
So far as the GFSC cash fund is concerned I wonder if it might be in case of it being sued for negligence.
I am not sure whether the provision “Power of the States to exclude liability” in the Banking Law 1987 was ever put into practice.
Another point is why does the GFSC not pay any tax on its income. This exemption might have been approriate in the early days of the Commission but is it apropriate twenty years later?
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Muzeek asks me
“How can you honestly believe that local banks especially RBS and LLoyds, who have troubles of their own would be sympathetic.
You seem to be living on cloud cuckoo land watching pigs fly”
Well, RBS and Lloyds are both planning to spend billions on staff bonuses. Just a personal view, I feel the money would be better used by paying their depositors. I accept this is a personal view and you might see it differently.
You may also search for details of the Deposit Protection Scheme put to the States last November. Guess who will finance it? Not the taxpayer, but banks.
The banks may not like a deposit protection scheme, but it is inevitable for the future of retail banking in Guernsey. You might disagree on this.
The amount needed to pay the LG depositors is likely to be petty cash, compared with the bonuses they are intent on paying themselves in bonuses.
You are entitled to your views. Please be coutyeous enough to respect the views of those who put up ideas you don’t agree with.
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Why is Guernsey the only country in the western world that has not helped depositors in failed banks?
Why are the States administration not helping when the TSC (treasury select committee) said that GSY has made plenty out of the financial sector and should now stand up and be counted?
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STEPHEN JOHN
I apologies for my frivolous remarks, but are you seriously suggesting that staff in RBS and LLoyds would be willing to give up their bonuses to assist depositors.
I really dont see it that way, and why should they, especially as there was no compensation scheme in place when depositors funds were invested.
As I understand it there are still funds available in the UK for use to compensate Landsbanki depositors when it is sorted out, so why not put all efforts to get these funds.
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PAUL LUCAS
You are right that the GFSC has required LG (and still require other banks to do so)to put GFSC’s standard wording in their documentation, leading depositors to believe that there was a legally binding guarantee in place. MUZEEK you ask what difference it would make. Well, creditors of the Icelandic bank will get some, if not all, their money back from Iceland but this is a remote prospect if the Guernsey operations did not have the proper paper work in place. This is the first point on which the GFSC failed LG depositors.
But there is another one. It relied heavily on UK’s FSA, given the good relations and agreements in place, to monitor Landsbanki’s financial situation. But they was a communication breakdown between them and they claim that the FSA did not inform them properly. If it is the case, this, to me, means that the GFSC’s approach was complacent and they are the prime responsible for it. If they want to turn to the FSA/ HMG to blame them for letting them down, fine. But it does not change in any way the fact that, in the eyes of Guernsey depositors, the GFSC, and not the FSA, was in charge of regulating LG. The buck stops with them, right at their feet.
MUZEEK
I am also a UK taxpayer and I find it outrageous that, while HMG has been bailing out Guernsey depositors re. local operations of ailing UK banks, it has not occured to the Guernsey CM to reciprocate the help received. The vast majority of LG depositors are indeed British citizens and UK taxpayers. But, believe me, any free lunch is likely to be short-lived.
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What a bunch of hypocrites.
Gsy folk have said all along they want independence from the UK – I mean, UK residents are restricted on how they can live life on the island and there has been much debate how we can ‘rid’ ourselves of the UK’s dead weight, now we want the Queen to bail us out.
I think you all have a nerve.
You can’t have an off-shore differential tax advantage over your neighbours and then expect them to come bailing you out when you hit trouble – thats what Lyndon is for; it is his responsibiity and his alone. He is the fall guy and he should be accountable, that is why he is the Chief Minister.
First thing you should be doing is baying for him to go – get a grip.
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F. Erker,
I have quoted you below!
How does one get your very valid and factual point accross to The CM and others???
What is good for the Goose is good for the Gander !!!
If they can not stand the heat they should stay out the kitchen !!!!
IanW
“I am also a UK taxpayer and I find it outrageous that, while HMG has been bailing out Guernsey depositors re. local operations of ailing UK banks, it has not occured to the Guernsey CM to reciprocate the help received. The vast majority of LG depositors are indeed British citizens and UK taxpayers. But, believe me, any free lunch is likely to be short-lived.”
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Darren
I think your facts are slightly muddled. Guernsey IS independent from the UK, the LG depositors are asserting their rights as British subjects, not UK citizens.
The GFSC are the ones who should be getting it in the neck about all this, not only were they incompetent but they then tried to cover their tracks with a sham review of their actions. I agree with you that Trott needs to go, for a number of reason though, not just the Landsbanki fiasco.
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I am British and live in Lancashire. I have my pension money tied up with Landsbanki. I saved for may years with Cheshire Guernsey and thought I was given rock-solid guarantees when Landsbanki took over from Cheshire Guernsey. Sadly, how misinformed I was and the Guernsey Authorities must share in the blame because I thought they exist to ensure savers are properly protected?
When I hear the statement Gordon Brown made when he said “No Britons have been affected by the current credit crisis” I am saddened and ashamed because at best, HE is misinformed or at worst downright lying.
Lets hope the Guernsey Authorities have a change of mind and do something positive to demonstrate people living on the UK mainland will feel safe to deposit savings in Guernsey Banks and Building Societies.
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Here is an email from Mr Trott to me !
I have two issues with it and its accuracy
1/Landsbanki depositors action group have never said this !!!
2/Neither was it ever point to the Guernsey parliament!!!
So where do we go from here????
From: Lyndon Trott
Sent: 18 February 2009 14:51:29
To: Ian W
Dear Mr W,
Yes I was.
It’s important to note that the LGDAG have made quite clear that they do not wish to see Guernsey Taxpayers cash used in this manner.
That is a view shared by the Guernsey Parliament.
Best regards, Lyndon
On 18 Feb 2009, at 08:31, Ian Wild wrote:
Good Morning Mr Trott,
Were you aware of this?
Ian Wild
The Isle of Man government will tell a court tomorrow that it will underpin 60p in the pound compensation for all investors in the collapsed Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander IoM bank. . .
. . . “It provides a quicker return, but the really important thing is that the Isle of Man is foregoing the right to reclaim any contribution until the depositors have received 60p in the pound.” He said the scheme would not, as depositors had believed, remove any of their legal rights of redress against any party. . .
, , , He concluded: “It compares well with the Landsbanki (Guernsey) situation, where people have received 30p in the pound. I realise this is cold comfort for the depositors, and we are absolutely working as hard as we can to improve the situation for them.” The Herald, Glasgow website – 18-Feb-09.
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Muzeek
I see where you are coming from.
Agreed that the staff ofm Lloys and RSB would not want some small part of their bonus to go to the LG depositors.
Agreed that there was no protection in place for LG depositors.
However, the proposed deposit protection scheme will be funded by the banks.
My stance is given the failure of the States to introduce a deposit protection schheme after Northern Rock, the failure of the GFSC to apreciate the reality etc then some form of ex gratia payment is due. Fubded by the banks
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I would you like to enter into this correspondence
to say that I was a client of the Cheshire Guernsey since the mid 1990′s when I deposited my pension pot with them prior to emigrating overseas.
Sometime in mid August 2006 I received the letter from said bank that they had sold their interest to Landsbanki Guernsey and for all intents and purpose the sale had the blessing of the GFSC as I did not even know what ‘galaxy’ Landsbanki might be operating out off, in view of this I spoke to the Manager of a Guernsey (U.K) building society (who was well known to me) and asked his view on this, he expressed no negative view on this at all and indeed told me that they were well established and would be agreesive with their interest rates.
My concern being satisfied I considered that I had done all the so called ‘due diligence’ that I could from the part of the world in which I lived, I carried on with my life as usual.
In closing I would state that if it was the ‘Letter of Comfort’ which I am sure that all depositors believed to be a ‘GUARANTEE’ endorsed by the GFSC.
In view of this we hold Mr.Trott and the States of Guernsey responsible for this scandal, which if not remedied will cause untold misery for us all and disgrace on the States of Guernsey.
RIDGEBACK
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Ridgeback
Whilst being sympathetic to your plight it should be understood that the GFSC were, until mid 2008 of a view that the Letters of Comfort and guarantee were ok and protected depositors.
It was only in August 2008 that the GFSC woke up to the fact that the letters of comfort were, in the words of the GFSC “However, no subsidiary has a parental guarantee in the sense of a legally-enforceable document and these letters do not necessarily ensure that the parent bank will support the subsidiary in times of severe crisis. Letters of comfort are statements of intent, which are not legally binding”
Theree then followed some weasel words about them having value “in concentrating minds at the parent, particularly where the parent’s name is used in that of the subsidiary. Despite this, there are reputational and legal reasons for making it clear that the subsidiary will not necessarily be protected by the parent during crises.”
The weasel words provide no comfort to the depositor suffering loss.
The admission that letters of comfort and guarantees had no legal standing begs the question of the competence of the GFSC, and ask the further question of why, when the realised the Letters of comfort that had been provided were defective, no action was taken to ensure they would be legally enforceable.
In view of the precarious state of the economy of Iceland and its banks, surely a vigilant regulator would have talk whatever steps were necessary to protect LG funds.
Was the reason for a lack of diligence the infantile like trust the GFSC put in the FSA for information re Landsbanki? The GFSC were clearly concerned about the bank. Why else would they seek guidance from the FSA?
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Jackie: I hate to spoil your gloating of your double standards in your response to Mac (no wonder the world thinks were all just takers, you give us all a bad name), but the UK DPS, exceptions like Icesave aside, is funded by the banks, not the UK taxpayers. In other words, by their customers; you.
Still, it’s good to see that you agree that the country where the deposit is should be responsible :-)
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Alan Douglas
You say that you have funds deposited with Landsbanki Guernsey but are a resident of the UK.
May I ask why you use an offshore account when there are so many financial institutions in the UK.
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Is Guernsey proud to be the only country in the western world not to have supported depositors in a failed bank operating in its jurisdiction and under its regulatory control?
The problems relating to Iceland and its banks were in the public domain for many months prior to the collapse of Landsbanki Guernsey but the GFSC took no action to stop the bank accepting deposits right up the time the bank collapsed.
The whole thing is a disgrace and I can only agree with the headline of an article I read in a national American newspaper which appeared at the time of the collapse.
“INVESTING IN GUERNSEY CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR WEALTH”
It takes decades to build a reputation as a reputable, well regulated and secure financial centre.It took Gibraltar more than a decade to recover from the Barlow Clowes collapse.Is Guernsey really prepared to go the same way by continuing to ignore the plight of 2000 plus (mostly elderly) depositors who placed their trust in Guernsey’s previously excellent reputation as a secure home for their savings?
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Whilst there has been much scrutiny over the role of the GFSC, surely we are missing the point and should be questioning why the depositors placed there savings in Landsbanki in the first place?
All investments, including bank deposits contain an element of risk, usually the higher the return the more element of risk. Surely it should be up to the individual investor to ascertain that risk before investing? A quick internet research of Landsbanki would have highlighted some of the risk associated, and that surely is not beyond the reach of many.
I doubt that the actions taken by the depositers will have any effect, I think they should accept responsibility for investing in a risky investment that did not pay off and wait for the administrators to do their job, which is surely being made more difficult.
As to whether there should be a depositors protection scheme, that would be a good idea if the funds are available, however in the current economic climate there are more important things for taxpayers money to be spent on.
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Kev
1. We live abroad and as such couldn’t have a UK bank account, that’s why we put our money with Landsbanki.
2. We were assured that the Parental Guarantee was just that – a GUARANTEE!
3. Have you not taken on board the repeated assertion that no taxpayers money is being asked for in compensation?
4. The depositors action group are NOT hindering the administrator in any way, directly or indirectly.
Finally – thank you for your ‘concern’
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KEV: I very well put, I totally agree with you.
Last August I spoke to my customer care manager at my local bank where I had funds invested.
I asked why I was getting 5% interest on my savings when other banks were giving over 7% and mentioned Landsbanki.
He advised that where the interest was high it was normally a sign that that bank needed funds.
Sound advise which prudent investors should have known, so I do agree the better the rate the higher the risk.
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Get over it…
You put your money in a high interest account & it was high risk…
Basically you gambled & you lost – it happens…
You think the whole world owes you cos u want your money back – it was your error not our so why should we bail you out…
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COMPOSE
Your points
1, For all those who live abroad why not use a bank in the country wou reside in, for after all the tax you will pay on interest will go towards the services you get from that country.
2, Thats ok but as it has been said many times before that when the parent company goes broke the guarantee is worth nothing.
3, if you are not using taxpayers money where is the problem, just get it from wherever and compensate, why keep on about Guernsey.
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I wish my pension pot had a guarantee of a 30% return!, bank stocks down 90%, millions outof work and all these people bang on about is how it is everybodys fault where they put their money. Landsbanki is hardly a high street name so why did they put so much trust in it? Could it be greed leading them to the highest rates. Why they feel it is Guernsey’s responsibility to ‘repay’ them is beyond me. Guernsey politicians..stop wasting time on this….or maybe you are responsible for all the worlds problems and thats why you can’t make decisions on Guernsey’s real problems.
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Muzeek – All those who live abroad will obviously be declaring their worldwide taxable income on their income tax returns in their countries of residence, therefore paying tax and supporting the services in the countries they live in!
Don’t they??
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How can the Queen be expected to kick backsides?
Nothing will happen until Trott and his lot shake the tree.
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PAUL
I couldņt have put it better.
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Paul; It was a Guernsey High Street back, took over Cheshire, was lauded by the GFSC, Guernsey Chamber of Commerce AAA rated by UK agency Moody’s just like Landsbanki Icesave in the UK which didn’t even have a physical presence for UK savers. They got their money in full. Our investigations have highlighted many failings, yet our government sits on its backside and will not actively press the the UK regarding the political influence it used to push the FSA to take actions tht only protected Icesaver customers while privateering others savings. If you do not know the difference between gambling on the stock market and saving in a bank you deserve to lose your money. Pensioners that have to live on their savings and its interest do not deserve to be penalised for seekink a rate that goes some way to protect their capital against inflation and government incompetence!
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