# Very confused - 40k to put away for a rainy day



## ricekrispies (16 May 2011)

Need some help please. I've 40k that I want to put away somewhere relatively safe. I want something with pretty low risk. 
I was looking at the BOI double saving account however having posted a thread about it last week I'm wary now of tying the deposit into an Irish bank.
Can someone tell me what'd be the safest option for me with this kind of money? Would really appreciate some advice.


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## cremeegg (16 May 2011)

This should be a simple question. In these strange times it is far from simple.

After thinking about all the concerns that I am aware of, or have seen raised on AAM, your best option in my opinion is to put the money on deposit in the UK in sterling. Using a UK address if you can.

This does expose you to a currency risk, which I would not consider appropriate for your situation in normal times. These are not normal times and keeping your savings in sterling is not a foolhardy thing to do. The possibility of a currency gain exists as well as the possibility of a currency loss. 

London is going to be one of the worlds great cities for the rest of your lifetime and is a responsible place to put your savings.

I still cant find it in my heart to welcome the Queen!


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## Happy Girl (16 May 2011)

cremeegg said:


> This should be a simple question. In these strange times it is far from simple.
> 
> After thinking about all the concerns that I am aware of, or have seen raised on AAM, your best option in my opinion is to put the money on deposit in the UK in sterling. Using a UK address if you can.
> 
> ...


 
Would there be any particular UK banks that you would specifically avoid or any that you would specifically recommend?


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## Guest105 (16 May 2011)

Hi Happy Girl

Thismay be of some use to you regarding the safety of deposits in British Banks.


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## cremeegg (17 May 2011)

Happy Girl said:


> Would there be any particular UK banks that you would specifically avoid or any that you would specifically recommend?



The UK govt guarantee is reliable, (unlike the Irish govt guarantee which, the Irish govt is unable to make good without outside support). Within the limits of that guarantee, all UK banks are the same.

Beyond that HSBC is probably the strongest on its own merits.


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## Guest105 (17 May 2011)

cremeegg said:


> The UK govt guarantee is reliable, (unlike the Irish govt guarantee which, the Irish govt is unable to make good without outside support). Within the limits of that guarantee, all UK banks are the same.
> 
> Beyond that HSBC is probably the strongest on its own merits.


 

*Not all UK savings are UK regulated.*
Most banks including foreign-owned ones like Spain's Santander are UK regulated. Yet a few EU-owned banks opt for a 'passport scheme' where you rely on protection primarily from their HOME government. 
This includes ING Direct, Anglo-Irish, Triodos & more. See  list for full details.


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## SlurrySlump (17 May 2011)

O.K. So do I get in my car and drive to Newry with a small amount of Sterling to open my account and then do a bank transfer in Sterling when I get home. I am not sure if my own bank (Ulster) offers great FX rates of exchange. How else can I transfer a largish sum of money to a U.K. bank account as I am not known in any other bank so they won't exchange my personal cheque for a Sterling draft. Any step by step advice?


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## Lightning (17 May 2011)

SlurrySlump said:


> O.K. So do I get in my car and drive to Newry with a small amount of Sterling to open my account and then do a bank transfer in Sterling when I get home.



Whatever you do, don't do this. 

Are you not happy with the FX rate that Ulster NI offers? You can also use a FX broker such as currency.ie


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## SlurrySlump (18 May 2011)

Ciaran. I don't use online banking. Is it possible to transfer Euro in to currency.ie any other way. Their site said that you could do this but didn't give specifics?

When I spoke to my local manager of Ulster Bank he said that he couldn't help me regarding the opening of a bank account in Northern Ireland. He said that I would have to get in my car and drive up.


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## farmerette (18 May 2011)

SlurrySlump said:


> O.K. So do I get in my car and drive to Newry with a small amount of Sterling to open my account and then do a bank transfer in Sterling when I get home. I am not sure if my own bank (Ulster) offers great FX rates of exchange. How else can I transfer a largish sum of money to a U.K. bank account as I am not known in any other bank so they won't exchange my personal cheque for a Sterling draft. Any step by step advice?


 
dont use any bank to make the currency exchange , they all rip you off although HSBC are especially extortionate , i use a crowd in dublin called transfer mate , thier at least half the price of a bank


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## Gervan (18 May 2011)

Transferwise require no complicated registration with certified documents, and charge €1 per transfer.


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## ricekrispies (20 May 2011)

Thanks for all the advice. Only getting a chance to reply now.

I'll look into this over the weekend. Will probably be back with a million questions 

*edit* nationwide UK are covered by the UK guarantee? So that would be a safe enough bet?


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## regvw (20 May 2011)

Hi riceKrispies
I'm not sure if the advice you have been giving here is really correct for your particular situation. 

If you only have 40K and you deposit it in an irish bank that is covered by the Irish deposit guarantee scheme then I believe you should be fine, this is guaranteed by the central bank which is propped up by europe.

The goverment guantee is a different thing which I dont believe is as strong. 

Now the only reason I see for you to move your money is if you feel Ireland will leave the euro and we will print some punt nua which will be horrible devalued. 

This is a long shot in my opinion, many people are moving monies they have in irish banks over the 100K which is guaranteed by the Irish deposit guarantee scheme to spread their risk


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## Lightning (20 May 2011)

regvw said:


> If you only have 40K and you deposit it in an irish bank that is covered by the Irish deposit guarantee scheme then I believe you should be fine, this is guaranteed by the central bank which is propped up by europe.The goverment guantee is a different thing which I dont believe is as strong.



I don't get your point. The Irish Guarantee is not 'guaranteed' by anyone. It is a stand alone guarantee by the Irish state.


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## regvw (21 May 2011)

hi ciaran
the guarantee is for 100k, thats my poin reallyt, why are we telling a man with 40k to put his money offshore


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## Lightning (21 May 2011)

regvw said:


> hi ciaran
> the guarantee is for 100k, thats my poin reallyt, why are we telling a man with 40k to put his money offshore



Why? because the prospect of default is quite real. The deposit protection guarantee like the state guarantee is only as good as the solvency of the Irish state.


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## regvw (21 May 2011)

you need to qualify this in more detail, i assume you are also expecting ireland to leave the euro, or are you saying the goverment would take all our savings


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## overdraftman (24 May 2011)

Would you not be better to sit tight for a few weeks and see what will be on offer from the new amalgamated banks?

I was lookign at depositing 15k recently and Ulster Bank were the best bet. EBS were offering a decent rate but they might not be around too long. Other than that Nationwide UK had a nice interest rate (4% AER I think).

Def worth checking out the savings calculator on www.itsyourmoney.ie or the Indo or Irish Times Money section (the have a savings page as well [broken link removed].

I don't know too much about the bonds but they sound like the safest option given the fact that the Govt won't go near them.


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## dam099 (26 May 2011)

I don't agree with the advice to put into sterling unless you are sure you want to speculate on currency. There are other options such as a Euro account in a UK bank or an account in Germany or other Euro countries or even German bonds that don't expose you to currency risk if you want to guard against a potential bankruptcy of Irish banks etc.


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## poundfoolish (20 Jun 2011)

Have 50,000 euro to deposit. We were thinking of depositing it in a sterling account in Ulster Bank in Newry. Now Bank of Ireland in Republic have told us we can open a sterling account with them. Interest rate very poor but feel sterling is safe. Would we be better off going up to Newry? Need advice please!


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## Gekko (20 Jun 2011)

poundfoolish said:


> Have 50,000 euro to deposit. We were thinking of depositing it in a sterling account in Ulster Bank in Newry. Now Bank of Ireland in Republic have told us we can open a sterling account with them. Interest rate very poor but feel sterling is safe. Would we be better off going up to Newry? Need advice please!


 
What's the worst case scenario?  Ireland defaults and is ejected from the Euro.  Euro denominated deposits in Irish banks (and Irish branches of foreign banks) are redenominated to "Punt 2" which immediately devalues by 50%.

In theory non Euro denominated deposits should be okay but during other historical currency crises, governments have on occasion frozen foreign denominated deposit accounts in their countries' banks.

On this basis, my own personal view is that a Euro or non Euro denominated deposit account in any non "PIIGS" country is probably the safest bet.

Notwithstanding the above, for Irish tax residents or Irish domiciled individuals the Irish government would probably be free to go after their foreign located deposits anyway through the tax system (with something akin to the domicile levy).


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