Which bank for a savings account?

[Blue Oval84]

Hi all,

I'm looking to open a new savings account and move a small amount of savings from ING Direct to somewhere that I deem safer, the question is, where?

I'm looking at the likes of moneysupermarket and top of the list so far is Post Office, Tesco Bank and Nationwide.

Any advice please?

[WhoseGeneration]

Blue Oval84 said:

Hi all,

I'm looking to open a new savings account and move a small amount of savings from ING Direct to somewhere that I deem safer, the question is, where?

I'm looking at the likes of moneysupermarket and top of the list so far is Post Office, Tesco Bank and Nationwide.

Any advice please?

Oh dear, the question we all ask ourselves.

[henrycrun]

Nationwide are dependable.
Tesco have had trouble with customers not being able to access their accounts when their website goes TU

[Blue Oval84]

I like the answers

Have opened one with Tesco and will do another with Nationwide soon. I'm a firm believer in spreading the risk. I think the fact that Tesco Bank is owned by Tesco PLC rather than a partnership with one of the "Zombie banks" helped swing it for me.

[sidicks]

Why is this in News, Politics & Economics??

[Blue Oval84]

sidicks said:

Why is this in News, Politics & Economics??

'cos the Economics boffins in this part of the forum know which banks sit where in the EU house of cards, and therefore by definition it's them that can tell me where is least exposed when the house crashes

Of course seeing as it only costs £1 to open a Tesco account, and I discovered myself that it's owned by Tesco themselves, I figured I'll open one before my wifi expires tonight and check if I did the right thing tomorrow

[Uhura fighter]

finance section

It'll probably end up in that section now.

[Blue Oval84]

Uhura fighter said:

finance section

It'll probably end up in that section now.

Ah, this site has too many sections I feel!!

[Crafty_]

Take a look at : https://www.gecapitaldirect.co.uk/

Lots of restructuring in the last 4 or so years to reduce exposure, plus its got a large, diverse company behind them

[Blackpuddin]

About a year ago I posted an idea for a Bank of England. Not THE BofE, but a new, simple bank which would simply act as a repository for money, backed by the absolute promise that none of it would leave the confines of the Bank for any reason whatsoever. Basically one up from a mattress. i got slaughtered then but I believe more than ever that such a bank would get a lot of customers as the EU stampedes towards disaster.

[anonymous-user]

Blackpuddin said:

About a year ago I posted an idea for a Bank of England. Not THE BofE, but a new, simple bank which would simply act as a repository for money, backed by the absolute promise that none of it would leave the confines of the Bank for any reason whatsoever. Basically one up from a mattress. i got slaughtered then but I believe more than ever that such a bank would get a lot of customers as the EU stampedes towards disaster.

How would this bank pay for itself? Even if it didn't pay interest it would still make a huge loss each year, unless people were willing to pay to have the accounts. That is the complete opposite of what most people want from their savings they want them to make a return not a loss.

[sooperscoop]

Hmmm, I though ING was considered one of the safest in Europe? What makes you think they aren't?

[steveatesh]

sooperscoop said:

Hmmm, I though ING was considered one of the safest in Europe? What makes you think they aren't?

Whilst its difficult to say any bank is safe at the moment I too would pull back from any bank based in the Eurozone, too close to the houses of cards holding them all up at the moment. For me it would be the precautionary principal, but as in any investment we have to "take a view" and hope it works out. At least Tesco Bank can be considered a block or two away from the house of cards when it collapses. Least that's my view, open to your views too of course.

[anonymous-user]

Bluequay said:

Blackpuddin said:

About a year ago I posted an idea for a Bank of England. Not THE BofE, but a new, simple bank which would simply act as a repository for money, backed by the absolute promise that none of it would leave the confines of the Bank for any reason whatsoever. Basically one up from a mattress. i got slaughtered then but I believe more than ever that such a bank would get a lot of customers as the EU stampedes towards disaster.

How would this bank pay for itself? Even if it didn't pay interest it would still make a huge loss each year, unless people were willing to pay to have the accounts. That is the complete opposite of what most people want from their savings they want them to make a return not a loss.

Indeed. It would be a fairly terribe idea all round:

The bank would lose money
People wouldn't earn any interest (in fact their savings would depreciate even more than they currently do)
Money would be unavailable to invest in growth stimulating businesses, so bad for the economy as a whole

The current NS&I model is a much better (though not perfect) place for your money if you want to feel all warm and cuddly that no evil bankers are going to run off with it. According to the markets, the UK government is a very good credit risk, better than pretty much any bank.

Alternatively you could go to Moneysavingsxpert.com and find an account with a FSCS guaranteed bank paying a competitive rate of interest. So long as you don't put more than £85,000 in any one organisation then it's guaranteed by the government anyway. You can ignore the scare mongers wondering about whether the government could afford to pay out the money in the event of said bank going pear shaped, as if the country ever ended up in the situation where the government couldn't afford to honour its promises you'd be too worried about scavenging food and defending your home from marauding feral chavs who've suddenly had the benefits tap turned off to worry about the savings account that's gone up in smoke.

[hornet]

With regards ING, I think they're covered by the Dutch deposit scheme rather than the UK one? They certainly were in the aftermath of the Kaupthing implosion, as that's where my account ended up. Likewise, I think the Post Office is under the Irish scheme?

[Blackpuddin]

Bluequay said:

Blackpuddin said:

About a year ago I posted an idea for a Bank of England. Not THE BofE, but a new, simple bank which would simply act as a repository for money, backed by the absolute promise that none of it would leave the confines of the Bank for any reason whatsoever. Basically one up from a mattress. i got slaughtered then but I believe more than ever that such a bank would get a lot of customers as the EU stampedes towards disaster.

How would this bank pay for itself? Even if it didn't pay interest it would still make a huge loss each year, [b}unless people were willing to pay to have the accounts[/b]. .

This is the next big shift in banking. They're already well advanced on that paying for accounts idea. The bank I'm suggesting would be a simple bulletproof repository of money, and yes, you would have to pay for it. I believe it won't be too long before people will be only too happy to accept (and pay for) the idea of simple cash security. The concept of receiving interest on savings will soon become as outdated as the idea of international flights for under fifty quid.

(Sorry can't get the bolding thing to work)

Edited by Blackpuddin on Monday 11th June 16:07

[anonymous-user]

coyft said:

Blackpuddin said:

Bluequay said:

Blackpuddin said:

About a year ago I posted an idea for a Bank of England. Not THE BofE, but a new, simple bank which would simply act as a repository for money, backed by the absolute promise that none of it would leave the confines of the Bank for any reason whatsoever. Basically one up from a mattress. i got slaughtered then but I believe more than ever that such a bank would get a lot of customers as the EU stampedes towards disaster.

How would this bank pay for itself? Even if it didn't pay interest it would still make a huge loss each year, [b}unless people were willing to pay to have the accounts[/b]. .

This is the next big shift in banking. They're already well advanced on that paying for accounts idea. The bank I'm suggesting would be a simple bulletproof repository of money, and yes, you would have to pay for it. I believe it won't be too long before people will be only too happy to accept (and pay for) the idea of simple cash security. The concept of receiving interest on savings will soon become as outdated as the idea of international flights for under fifty quid.

Agree entirely.

So you'd be quite happy with the fact that if you put £100,000 away for your retirement by the time you came to retire it was only worth the equivalent of £50,000? You'd be watching your hard earned asset depreciate and paying for the privilege.

[NonSyncro]

Inkyfingers said:

coyft said:

Blackpuddin said:

Bluequay said:

Blackpuddin said:

About a year ago I posted an idea for a Bank of England. Not THE BofE, but a new, simple bank which would simply act as a repository for money, backed by the absolute promise that none of it would leave the confines of the Bank for any reason whatsoever. Basically one up from a mattress. i got slaughtered then but I believe more than ever that such a bank would get a lot of customers as the EU stampedes towards disaster.

How would this bank pay for itself? Even if it didn't pay interest it would still make a huge loss each year, [b}unless people were willing to pay to have the accounts[/b]. .

This is the next big shift in banking. They're already well advanced on that paying for accounts idea. The bank I'm suggesting would be a simple bulletproof repository of money, and yes, you would have to pay for it. I believe it won't be too long before people will be only too happy to accept (and pay for) the idea of simple cash security. The concept of receiving interest on savings will soon become as outdated as the idea of international flights for under fifty quid.

Agree entirely.

So you'd be quite happy with the fact that if you put £100,000 away for your retirement by the time you came to retire it was only worth the equivalent of £50,000? You'd be watching your hard earned asset depreciate and paying for the privilege.

Inflation is a small price to pay for some, if it ensures your financial security.

Just look at Germany's 2-year bond yields. While the bloke in the video does a little bit of scaremongering, he raises a valid point. Germany's bonds appear to offer the same return as my mattress.

[Blackpuddin]

Asking if people would be happy with this system isn't really the point. I'm talking about recognising and adapting to the new reality.

[anonymous-user]

If somebody did start up a bank like that and we all put our money in it then that would signal the end of this country's whole economic system as banks would be unable to lend to individuals and businesses in order to expand or start businesses and create growth. You'd also see a huge flow of money out of the UK financial system and into foreign institutions that were paying interest and companies would also be likely to move abroad where there cash reserves could be put to better use. In short you'd likely create a recession that would make our current one seem like the good old days.

It's one thing reducing risk, but if you have a situation where there is no risk then there would also be no reward and like it or not that is what our system is built on.