Thousands of UK customers of two of the collapsed Icelandic banks will receive application forms for compensation for their lost savings in the next week. Most customers of Kaupthing and Heritable Bank will have compensation automatically transferred to ING Direct (its new owner). ING Direct is acquiring £2.5bn of deposits and 160,000 customers from Kaupthing and £538m of savings held by 22,200 people with Heritable Bank.
Icesave customers should learn on Friday how to claim their compensation. The UK Treasury said the three banks were in default but savers’ money was safe.
Icelandic bank Kaupthing Edge has announced it will leave its savings rate untouched at 6.5% following the Bank of England base rate cut. This is the second time it has decided to keep its top rate on hold despite base rate reductions. Icesave, the UK savings arm of Landsbanki bank, followed in the wake of its Icelandic peer and also announced that it would retain the 6.05% rate on its easy access account. Kaupthing stormed onto the UK savings market this year, but has since endured a tirade of unfavorable press after Morgan Stanley revealed its borrowing costs have increased 400% over the past year and analysts concluded it is 7.5 times more likely to default than any other European bank. However, UK savers can take solace in the fact that their savings are covered up to £35,000, as well as the impressive guarantee on the Kaupthing account of 0.3% above base rate until 2012.