Bank deposits drop almost £2bn
Monday 6th September 2010, 2:30PM BST.
THE value of deposits in Guernsey banks fell by just under £2bn during the second quarter of this year.
For the three-month period to the end of June, deposits went down from £118.7bn to £116.8bn.
The fall represented a 6.2% decrease since the same time a year previously when deposits held in Guernsey stood at £124.6bn.
It was also a return to declining values after the first quarter of this year saw the first increase in the quarterly bank figures for more than a year.
GFSC director of banking Philip Marr (pictured) said that it was not possible to discern any obvious trends from the second-quarter figures.
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After the Landsbanki Guernsey Debacle
Depositors are starting to recognise that Guernsey does not look after its retail depositors, it hangs them out to dry.
Guernsey introduces an inadequate Depositors Compensation Scheme immediately after landsbanki Guernsey is placed in administration to make itself look good, but fails miserably.
The EC is now considering upping their scheme to 100,000 Euros by the end of the year.
Who wants to still put their money into Guernsey retail banking, the interest rates are lower than the UK. The UK DCS guarantees £50,000 and if they were to make it easier for offshore depositors to use UK banks, I think we would all move there.
The full article in the Press and on the GFSC website says more banks are going by the end of the year.
Interesting.
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Well siad Gary #1
I moved all my money out pronto.
And yes you can open some accounts in the UK where you get proper protection and compensation (no-one in the UK lost money, only Guernsey and IoM).
Try Halifax UK, I did and they now have my savings.
They pay gross and with better rates than here.
Oh and from next year the UK protection goes upto 100,000 euro equivalent per person!
Move it now before you loose out!!
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Would you honestly advise friends or family to invest savings in Guernsey after the disappointing lack of action by the government over the Landsbanki affair. I for one would not and have not.
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I moved my life savings back here in mid 2008. Yes, you’ve guessed where.
I am sick that of all the British people that were protected to 100% by their Government when Icesave collapsed (despite the face that the official compensation was only 20,000 EURO) Guernsey people are the only ones to be abandoned by their elected Governments when the financial hurricane hit the world.
And this has obviously been noticed by those who would otherwise send money into the Island.
If people from outside stop putting money in the Island, Guernsey people lose jobs. This is becaused of something called the ‘multiplier’ effect which John Maynard Keynes discovered.
This drop in funds in the Island – part (but obviously not all) due to Lansdbanki means that shop workers and others will lose jobs.
Our States should wake up — it would cost a mere 9 million (small in government terms) to compensate every single “Guernsey Icesaver”, including the 94 ear old lady and other pensioners who were living off their savings.
How much money has our States wasted by pumping it into Aurigny’s loss making regional services? About twice that!!
Lyndon, please wake up to the human suffering in your own people that the collapse of Lansbanki/Icesave has caused.
It’s not too late to do the right thing.
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Despite the criticism that is pointed at the Landsbanki Guernsey depositors by certain members of the Guernsey community it is mainly through their efforts that the many remaining unanswered questions in regard to current retail banking have been exposed.
The retail money will continue to haemorrhage out of Guernsey as more and more depositors became aware of the anomolies that exist when entrusting your hard-earned savings to Banks in Guernsey.
Why would any individual take the risk of losing money from the possible collapse of a Guernsey bank, backed by a totally inadequate Depositors Compensation Scheme that was far too hastily brought in after the collapse of Landsbanki Guernsey?
The days of putting your money in a bank and forgetting about it, because you know it is safe, are long gone. Depositors have the right to ask pertinent questions about how safe their money is within a Guernsey bank and what protection they have through a DCS.
Depositing your money in the UK is currently far more reassuring than leaving it in Guernsey and until Guernsey provides a more level playing field for depositors, the steady flow will continue to gather momentum.
Does Guernsey really care about retail depositors? – the lack of financial/political will to address the present anomolies is not at all encouraging.
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People are taking note of the actions of GFSC and how they have treated customers of the islands banking system.
How they turn their backs and abandon the very people they are supposed to protect.
Ask any depositor with Landsbanki Guernsey what they think of GFSC.
Would you trust someone with a record like that? I certainly would not.
GFSC and the entire Guernsey financial system cannot be trusted – and anyone who does is taking a big risk with their deposits.
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I think the third quarter will certainly show another fall in the value of deposits as Northern Rock closed it’s Guernsey branch this september. The Guernsey authorities underestimated the situation when Landsbanki crashed and continue to do so with their inadequate DCS and lack of support for the very people who put their deposits in the Guernsey banks.
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“GFSC director of banking Philip Marr (pictured) said that it was not possible to discern any obvious trends from the second-quarter figures.” – sounds to me more like “The boy stood on the burning deck, Whence all but he had fled”.
As others write so eloquently, Landsbanki Guernsey and the GFSC’s actions (lack of actions?) has resulted in a partial crisis of confidence which might lead to a landslide yet.
But their problems go further. With great equanimity Mr. Barr confirms that some (several?) bank licences are to be handed in sometime later this year. It hardly sounds like a healthy growth situation if banks are seemingly deserting Guernsey like this.
Elsewhere, we hear from the fiduciary division at the the GFSC that they expect reduced fees from their sector next year due to more licensees departing.
Draw your own conclusions!!
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@ Local Depositor. You have posted..”This drop in funds in the Island – part (but obviously not all) due to Lansdbanki means that shop workers and others will lose jobs.”
What a load of tosh! I suggest you do some research into what finance activities actually take place on the island.
@ JJ. I’m glad the UK is offering more options to offshore depositors. I am suprised that you get covered even when interest is paid gorss though, as it means you get the best of both worlds!
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Would you invest in a company with shambolic management: lack of qualifications for the position they hold and by their actions have zero credibility? If your answer is no then do not come near Guernsey, even with a boxful of monopoly money. It would take a man; someone of integrity, to admit he called the Landsbanki situation wrong. The whole of the policy council and GFSC are still in denial but fear not the GFSC are taking on more staff to look after their shrinking violet. Pass me another valium Charlie.
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The reason why there has been a fall in bank deposits is simply because Guernsey banks (in common with all offshore banks) are currently offering very low deposit rates.
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The Landsbanki Guernsey disaster – for that is what it was and still is – suggests to me a considerable lack of professionalism and care for its citizens and customers on the part of the Guernsey Government and the GFSC. A decline in investment in Guernsey seems to me to be a natural consequence.
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So Greg; you say ‘What a load of tosh! I suggest you do some research into what finance activities actually take place on the island.’ Tell that to the people at Investec who got laid off, Ask them what they think? Oh I forgot; they wouldn’t be able to tell you as they have been held to a secrecy clause. The situation is sensitive and all might be well in your ‘Leibnizian’ world of ‘the best of all possible worlds’ but reality is always worse than fantasia. Still I am sure the policy council will give you their vote.
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A £2bn drop because of a failure to pay less than £10m compensation to savers (not investors)in LG. Where will this continued bad publicity end up?
Why dont the Deputies ask these questions and get the compensation paid so that the negative comments now abounding can become more positive.
Arthur
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Eric Graham points out that it is not too late for LT to do the right thing, (and without local taxpaer funding), rather than have elderly pensioners (local people whom he serves) on his conscience for the the rest of his life.
It could also start to bring back confidence in Guernsey’s discredited financial system.
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Greg
You shouldn’t be surprised if you know as much about finance as you claim.
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Does anyone know which Banks are departing other than Northern Rock ?
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I expected these comments from the action group as soon as I saw the headlines. Oh goodie another nail in the islands coffin. I bet if the headline had been the other way they would have been very quiet.
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The headline says, “Bank Deposits drop by £2bn”. Consider this: In Dec 2008 the total deposits held in Guernsey was £157bn, in Jun 2010 it was £116bn. That’s a drop of £41bn (25%) in 18 months.
Also consider this: in June 2000 there were 79 institutions with banking licences. In June 2010 there were 42 and we already know of one bank that has quit since then (that’s 41) and Philip Marr talks about several more handing in their licenses this year (presuming that to me at least three then we are looking at 38 licensees). From 79 to 38 is a drop of 41 licenses, more than 50% in ten years.
So much for Philip Marr saying that “it was not possible to discern any obvious trends from the second-quarter figures”.
Draw your own conclusions!!
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This can not really be a surprise to anyone except the GFSC who seem to live in a dream. They have cost Guernsey the faith of many depositors. Having had the bitter experience fo having a government body assist in the theft of my lifesavings – and those of my wife-I would never use a Guernsey banks again.
I have to assume on the evidence of this article that word of GFSC’s fantastic skills is spreading. There will surely be further deficits. Watch this space!
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Greg, according to the GFSC more banks appear to be preparing to move out before the end of the year, so no matter which way you look at it, more jobs will be lost, whether they be shopworkers or bankers.
We all know that the retail banking industry is expendable because it brings in the least amount of tax, John Roper told us that some years ago when he said,
“We’re after the high-net-worth investor for whom 15,000 Ecus is not a lot of protection for a $500,000 account. We’ve got better things to do.”
Just prior to the Euro,( when they thought it would be called a Ecu ) but things haven’t changed much.
But start losing your retail banking and the confidence in Guernsey as a whole will start to wain.
Not sure anybody understands your second paragraph!!!!!!
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Perhaps if the GFSc introduced a decent compensation scheme incase of further bank collapses (rather than a half hearted scheme which relies on banks paying in only AFTER another bank collapses), or if it was agreed that those unfortunate sufferers of Landsbanki Guernsey’s collapse would get any money that couldn’t be regained from the bank compensated for by the States (who allowed the bank to set up in the Bailiwick), then maybe investors would regain confidence.
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After the lack of support for depositors of the failed banks in Guernsey, my whole family and friends moved all their money out and closed all accounts. The pathetic DCS, the overwelming lack of any support by the GFSC, the government and its depuities showed, there is no security, no support or any will existent that gives depositors the prove that its a good decision to invest in Guernsey. If things go wrong they do nothing, so depositors will vote with their feet and will walk away quickly. Mr. Todd and Co. actions did not spread any confidence, nothing did happen. So money moves away from Guernsey.
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Whilst I agree that the DCS is totally inadequate, I don’t think we need to be too worried about the decrease in deposits. Fortunately deposit taking is actually a very small part of the whole Guernsey finance industry, and while deposits are decreasing, there is good reason to be optimistic about other areas.
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Guernsey is reaping the rewards of having mismanaged depositor’s funds. Its reputation will not recover quickly if at all.
The government showed what can most diplomatically be described as very poor judgment throughout the Landsbanki affair. They have since exhibited no compassion whatsoever for the poor people who lost their funds. What need to wonder why others are removing their money from Guernsey?
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The message has finally got through then, the failure of GFSC to ensure that the thousands of small depositors in the failed Landsbanki subsidiary were properly protected was bound to cause an outflow of money from the island sooner or later. It set a bad precedence. Mr. Marr’s waiting some more is unlikely to reverse the southward trend in the level of deposits.
The good burghers of Guernsey may like to take note. It’s they who will ultimately bear the consequences if deposits continue to flow out.
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Taking right it back to basics…
Some people chose to put their money in an Icelandic bank that was offering very high interest rates. The global economy went belly up and it turned out the Icelandic back did not have enough capital to pay out. Those depositors got burned.
This was a terrible thing. I am sure if it was my money I would have been devastated, but the breach of contract (for that is what it was) was between the Icelandic Bank and the depositors. It was not between the depositors and the States of Guernsey or even the GFSC.
I still don’t see why the taxpayers of Guernsey should have been expected to pay compensation to those depositors when they cannot even afford to repair their own schools? The taxpayers of Guernsey were not responsible for the whole sorry saga and were therefore not liable to pick up the bill.
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CD, perhaps you might like to take a look at the GFSC’s website homepage, which states:
“The Guernsey Financial Services Commission is the regulatory body for the finance sector in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The Commission’s primary objective is to regulate and supervise financial services in Guernsey, with integrity and efficiency, and in so doing help to uphold the international reputation of Guernsey as a finance centre.”
You can’t pretend that the GFSC regulated the Landsbanki situation with integrity and efficiency (its primary objective!!), can you?
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CD – please note. In October 2007, with the blessing of my IFA,I put a large chunk of my savings into Landsbanki Guernsey. I did NOT choose the highest or even NEARLY the highest interest rates from the list of the banks and that my IFA gave me. The rate was 5.85% which was by no means high at that time. Why do I keep hearing that I and many other people who did the same were greedy for high interest rates. At the time my knowledgable London friends said I was a fool not to go for one of a number of internet accounts paying 7% or more. My reply was that I wanted to keep my savings where I live in the Guernsey Bailiwick because I TRUSTED my government to choose carefully the banks that they allowed to operate in Guernsey. I knew that the Guernsey Financial Services Corporation was headed by a very highly paid experienced person whom I expected to safeguard my interests and I was confident that the GFSC would not allow a dodgy bank to operate in Guernsey because it was very important to keep up the good reputation of the island. I regarded Guernsey banking as well regulated, and Guernsey as a place that looked after its taxpayers – yes, remember the 600 Guernsey residents who have suffered as a result of the bad regulation are also TAXPAYERS.
I now realise that the whole thing works only because there are many trusting idiots like me.
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CD
You obviously have not read all the facts on the subject or you would not be making your uninformed comments. Landsbanki Guernsey was a well capitalised bank with assets in excess of liabilities. Its interest rates were similar to at least five or six building societies at the time.
The main reason for its failure was the UK FSA pulling the plug on Heritable Bank in the UK, but in turn that would not have been a problem if the GFSC had not upstreamed approx £36 Million of Landsbanki Guernsey depositors money to Heritable and not ringfenced it, through their lack of due dilligence in not realising that Heritable was reliant on Landsbanki Islands hf in Iceland for their credit line.
I hope you are still with me.
If it had not been for that, the Landsbanki Guernsey Depositors would have by now been repaid the majority of their money, not just 67.5%. Guernsey, both GFSC & Government hide behind the promontory report, a self serving , shallow report started in Nov 2008 and completed in Jan 2009. Instigated by the GFSC, under their terms of reference and paid for by them. No independent witnesses, purely internal.But the Chief Minister uses it as his scapegoat at every opportunity
Guernsey needs a fully independent inquiry into this whole mess, but the States are frightened to hold one and get to the truth, whatever that fully independent inquiry finds.
600 of the 1600 depositors were Guernsey residents and taxpayers, the majority pensioners. They have a perfect right to an independent inquiry.
If at the end of the day that inquiry finds there was no local blame, then so be it, but lets have that fully indepedant inquiry like the Isle of Man, the UK Treasury select Committee, The UK Criminal justice Committee, The Icelandic truth Committee.
What’s Guernsey Government frightened of?
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Until there is this independent inquiry to totally clarify exactly what went on in the lead up to and post Landsbanki Guernsey Administration, Guernsey will continue, quite rightly, to suffer throughout the world from a bad reputation as regards its retail banking section. Of course this may well rub off ito other areas if trust cannot be fully restored.
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CD
For the umpteenth time it was not an Icelandic bank. It was a Guernsey-registered GFSC-authorised bank which had an Icelandic parent. There was clear regulatory failure on the part of the GFSC for permitting the Guernsey bank, yes Guernsey bank, to place the majority of the deposits it had gathered in Heritable, which was directly exposed to Icelandic risk. That is why there must be a public inquiry, as has been the case in the UK and the Isle of Man. What on earth is Mr Trott waiting for?
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CD
You are spot on with your comments, and for those who say it wasn’t an Icelandic Bank that is patently untrue.
There was no compensation scheme in place at the time, so there is no way that tax payers, some of whom cannot even afford to live let alone invest, should bail out those who are wealthy enough to do so.
As it has been said many times before “you pays your money and takes your chances”
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Mja
please explain how this guernsey bank was able to
offer such decent rates of interest compared to high street
banks?
Whilst I have sympathy for local savers, here is a fact – there was
no depositors protection scheme in place at that time.
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I was going to read through the all the posts on this subject then I realised that all it would be is another excuse for Landsbanki savers to slag off our finance sector!
Its just so boring now, you’ve had the majority of your money back so why not give up!
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GFSC director of banking Philip Marr said that it was not possible to discern any obvious trends from the second-quarter figures. Maybe he should have gone to Specsavers.
If the bubble of the Guernsey Finance Industry has finally been pricked then there really is a God.
Of course it will all be the fault of the rotten old UK. Since Guernsey really does not like the UK it is high time that they stopped flying the Union Jack. It is NOT Guernsey’s flag and the other Crown Dependencies do not fly it.
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JohnT
PUBLIC INQUIRY
It is patently true that it was a Guernsey-registered, Guernsey-incorporated, GFSC-licensed bank much as you may wish to remain in denial about this obvious fact. So its failure is ultimately Guernsey’s responsibility and no-one else’s.
That is why there must be an independent public inquiry into the GFSC’s clear regulatory failure in permitting this Guernsey bank to expose most of its assets to Icelandic risk in Heritable Bank.
Gazza
Cheshire was only offering 4.25 for a 90-day account when I made my deposit. This was average, compared to other Guernsey building societies at the time. Rates fluctuated after the sale in line with the average for other BSs.
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kevin
I totally agree with your comment, it seems to me that Landsbanki savers are always ready to slag off Guernsey, and wanting to see the island destroyed financially..
As I have previously said they are expecting joe public to help them out, many of whom are not in a privileged position of being able to save at all.
coyote
Another Guernsey hater I believe, what a load of rubbish.
Finally
life is full of choices and for those lucky enough to be able to afford to save, you have to take due diligence and be responsible for where you place your funds.
Two years ago I came into a amount of money which for the first time in my life wanted to invest. I did my homework and although at the time the rates offered by Landsbanki were higher I wanted peace of mind and used other banks rather than an Icelandic bank.
You see I went for safety, why didn’t others much more financially knowledgeable do this, its simples really, they were greedy.
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John T, Gazza, Kevin,
I will repeat it again for those who never seem to listen. Landsbanki Guernsey rates were around the same as about five or six UK building societies at the time.
The GFSC failed to carry out proper due dilligence when they made landsbanki Guernsey upstream approx £36 million to Heritable in the UK, not realising the full link between Heritable and Iceland (lack of due dilligence, they relied totally on the FSA).
The LGDAG have asked for a fully independent, select Committee type inquiry, into the lead-up and post Landsbanki Guernsey Administration.
We would abide by any fully independent inquiries decision, but the Chief Minister and the States of Guernsey seem to fear a fully independent inquiry. Promontory was not independent, it was instigated by the GFSC,under their terms of reference, paid for by them and was internal, with no outside witnesses cross examined under oath. No one could call that independent. It reached the exact conclusion required to stop legal action against the GFSC.
Guernsey is nearly another £2 billion down in its retail banking sector, this quarter, I believe nearly 26% over the last 18 months and the GFSC can not see any trends. Well 23 months ago Landsbanki Guernsey went into administration, Guernsey then inroduced a less than adequate compensation scheme. Guernsey Government treated the depositors like lepers and still does. I would say that was at least part of the reason for the removal of funds.
The LGDAG has not had a government update for over one year now. A letter asking about this to the CHief Minister and Policy Council a month ago has not been responded to.
Do you wonder why 1600 depositors, 600 being local taxpayers are disgruntled to say the least with the Guernsey Authorities and that retail bank funds in Guernsey are moving elsewhere to safer better covered Depositor Compensation schemes.
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Is it not true that those who entrusted their savings to the major clearing banks have only retained their savings because the British taxpayer bailed out those banks. Failing that action by the UK government the whole of the banking system may have collapsed.
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I just wish some of the former employees of Landsbanki Guernsey would step up and say what they know.
Have they been gagged via legislation or via brown envelopes ?
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The Chief Minister is just back from Brussels from socialising with our EU neighbours, I will use his words, fitted to the Landsbanki Guernsey situation. Which we agree with applied to our case.
10th September 2010
” Decisions are made in Brussels (read Guernsey) which have a direct impact on us , so it is vital that we make our voice heard and put our case forward effectively. That is what the previous two days (read two years) have been all about.”
we suspect that the Chief Minister whilst expending all this taxpayers money in Brussels will have about as much success with Europe as the Landsbanki Guernsey Depositors Action Group have had in getting him to reply to letters , answer questions,or keep publicly made promises.
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JohnT
You were so clever in “doing your homework” and spreading your risk, weren’t you. Well done, but you didn’t deposit (not “invest”) in “an Icelandic bank”, as you say, and neither did we.
We deposited in a Guernsey-registered, Guernsey-incorporated, GFSC-licensed bank (the Cheshire) much as you may wish to remain in denial about this obvious fact. So its failure is ultimately Guernsey’s responsibility and no-one else’s. Not a question of slagging off Guernsey. Just reminding the Chief Mnister to do his duty and launch a fully independent public inquiry into the GFSC’s clear regulatory failure in permitting this Guernsey bank to expose most of its assets to Icelandic risk in Heritable Bank.
The UK and Isle of Man held very public parliamentary inquiries into the regulatory failure. If Guernsey wants to play in the same league it must follow suit. Otherwise its finance centre will forever play second fiddle to the UK, Isle of Man and – yes – your more successful neighbour, Jersey.
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Gary Blanchford
As you keep on repeating misleading facts about Landsbanki interest rates, I have to repeat what I have put on previous blogs.
Two years ago I had funds with Barclays giving me 5 % interest.
I read that Landsbanki were giving over 7 % and so I spoke to my Barclays customer service manager explaining I wasn’t happy with the rates they were giving.
I pointed out that Landsbanki were giving over 7 % he replied that any bank giving that rate at that time must have a cash flow problem and advised me to look elsewhere.
I heeded his advise and as a result I did and went to Northern Rock at about 6 % and which had a UK Government 100 % guarantee.
Although I was very naive financially even I got it right, the reason, I did my homework and wanted my funds to be secure, not chase the highest rate.
To Landsbanki customers you chose to go with a high interest rate with an Icelandic bank.
Get over it, there are many people on the island whom are struggling to survive let alone bail you out for your investment mistakes.
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MJA says “Otherwise its finance centre will forever play second fiddle to the UK, Isle of Man and – yes – your more successful neighbour, Jersey.”
I’m presuming MJA has never been to the UK, Isle of Man or Jersey. Because I know that most Guerns would rather be playing second fiddle rather than end up like any of those countries!
Gary, it would be interesting to see how much of that 26% drop in deposits has been caused by the global economic crisis, and how much can be attributed to the Landsbanki collapse and the pretty useless protection scheme that has now been introduced. I wonder if there are figures showing the reduction in IOM and Jersey deposits. I know that Jersey has seen a large reduction in business (depsite MJA thinking it is far more successful).
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Gary, Jersey deposits fell by 6% in the 3 mths to June 2010. So maybe the drop in Guernsey deposits actually has nothing to do with the Landsbanki collapse.
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Greg
You are wrong yet again in your assumptions as usual. I have visited.
JohnT
You said: “I read that Landsbanki were giving over 7 % and so I spoke to my Barclays customer service manager explaining I wasn’t happy with the rates they were giving.”
Ah, so not content with your 5% at Barclays you were chasing higher rates!
Cheshire / Landsbanki’s rates were always about average compared to other building societies in Guernsey and Isle of Man (Jersey too advanced to have any). The rate of 7% that Barclays quoted must have been for a five-year bond that most like to avoid. Rates for more accessible accounts were average.
“I heeded his advise and as a result I did and went to Northern Rock at about 6 % and which had a UK Government 100% guarantee.”
Your savings were guaranteed by the UK taxpayer!
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Yes, really, well done, johnT, for taking some sound financial advice from someone who appeared to know what they were talking about, however…..
your entirely unempathic ‘ding ding, I’m on the bus’ attitude would be rather different, I suspect, if YOU were one of those who had taken what you genuinely thought was equally sound, financial advice from an equally reputable source, put your money in a (seemingly) proper, supposedly GFSC regulated and above board Bank, then discovered that all your savings had been shipped off to bail out their parent bank in ‘somewhere-else-ville’, before announcing they didn’t have enough to pay you back….
I wonder if you, then, would just ‘get over it’? Methinks, not.
Hard working and honest people (many retirees, many local) have lost their life savings over this total farce, and Guernsey has shown the world that it’s up for grabbing everything it can from the finance industry (which sadly, and scarily, is virtually the only industry our establishment supports, and that we’re almost entirely dependent on),
as long as when it all goes t*ts up, they aren’t expected to take any responsibility.
Their indifferent stance is utterly shameful, as is yours, and I only hope that one day something like this doesn’t happen to YOU.
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Scarlett, probably time to calm down a bit. No-one has “lost their life savings”. The Landsbanki depositors cause is not helped by such attention grabbing untruths.
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Greg. Ironically, the only thing that could put the briefest, most minute, ripple in the Zen-like pond of my mind is (like for many), when someone patronises me by wrongly assuming that I need to ‘ calm down’.
My observations about this scandal and the impact on people lives (not mine, thank god!) are based on what happened, and hearing first hand what some of the victims have gone through…
right, Greg, back to you for more robust defending of the indefensible….
and as a token of my appreciation, a few words of advice for you….
you can put a pig in a dress and call it Shirley, but it is still, undoubtedly, A PIG.
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Greg,
There are also landsbanki depositors in Jersey.
If a retired pensioner has relied on his life savings to subsidise a meagre pension, then initially he lost his life savings. He then only regained 30%,over the last two years that has climbed to 67.5% he is still 32.5% down on his life savings and his earning capability has also reduced over that period to almost nothing. You are obviously not in that sort of position, where everything you have worked for all you life has suddenly disappeared and could take years to recoup. At the same time you have a totally unsympathetic Government and the fact that £36 million of your money was upstreamed to Heritable in London, by the GFSC and should never have gone there with the information availible to them at the time.
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32.5% loss does not equal total loss. Perhaps Scarlett you’ve been told a few porkies. Maybe better for you to confirm the facts that you’ve heard first hand, before sensationalising things?
And note, i’m not defending anything. Just pointing out the truth
Gary, i’m not sure that the fact there was Landsbanki depositors in Jersey has anything to do with the same drop in deposits as Guernsey? I think the similarity in the figures actually shows the Landsbanki fiasco has had a negligible effect on Guernsey.
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‘Sensationalising’ what, exactly Greg?
The fact that genuine, hardworking people lost their money in this fiasco, and what the GFSC’s role was/is in all this, or the fact that our establishment entirely abandoned them….?
You seem to have a perchant for conspiracy theories, Greg, so if, as you suggest, everything we’ve been told by everyone (from the victims to our own leaders) is lies and supposition, then I suggest you gather all this info together and create a novel which could be the conspiracy blockbuster of all time (look out Dan Brown..!)
You keep on calling that thing Shirley, Greg, and perhaps it won’t appear so porcine (to you, at least), I’m off now to polish my Porsche…
well, it’s a old Ford Cortina, but I call it a Porsche, in the hope that one day, it’ll turn into one…
ciao ciao!
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a 2% move is not worth worrying about and I would wager that it actually represents an increase in deposits in Guernsey !!!
The exchange rate to EURO has moved 7.8% during the same period and certainly would contribute highly to the reduction in the headline figure. Add in that you get nigh on no interest at the moment then it wouldn’t be too odd that people have moved out of cash into other investments (Equities, bonds, property etc).
If I recall correctly, the big move in YoY figures is primarily down to changes to the placements of Swiss Fiduciary deposits which as a result saw a large outflow at the end of last year.
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Jamie,
I agree that the Swiss Fiduciary deposits have had an impact, but I believe the retail deposits over the last 18 months have fallen around 26%. Whilst I accept this is not all due to a lack of confidence in Guernsey, The landsbanki Guernsey failure has no doubt contrubuted to that lack of confidence along with a less than adequate depositors Compensation Scheme and a Government that totally fails its depositors and will not even instgate a fully independent inquiry into all the underlying facts.Along with all that more retail banks have apparently intimated they will be leaving Guernsey this year (GFSC report)
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Kevin posting of 11 Sept.
I quote “you’ve had the majority of your money back, so give up”.
It set me thinking. In the past week or so I have had a phone bill, an electricity bill and a dentist’s bill, and a bill from my optician, I immediately sent each of the companies 67.5% of the totals due with an explanation that I trusted my savings to the GFSC (yes it was in effect trusted to the GFSC) but they had let me down. I send that if I did finish up by getting 90% of my savings back, of course, I’d send them a bit more.
So far I have had only one response telling me that they don’t accept part payment. Very unreasonable. I will let you know what the others say when I hear from them. I am sure, under the circumstances, they will “give up” trying to get the rest from me.
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Angela Beer
The crucial difference is that you of course have an unequivocal contractual obligation to your dentist, electrician, doctor etc, from whom you have obviously received services. The GFSC and the States of Guernsey very clearly have no contractual obligation towards you for what happened re. Landsbanki.
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