Franky on Finance

New banks from foreign shores are tempting savers with top rates of interest on internet accounts.  Kaupthing Edge is owned by Icelandic Bank Kaupthing and its UK subsidiary Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander.  ICICI Bank UK, a subsidiary of the huge Indian ICICI Bank, operates in 18 countries and has 24m customers worldwide.  FBN (UK) Ltd, whose account, under the brand name FirstSave, is also in the best buy tables, is a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria.  With all three banks the money in your savings account always stays in the UK and is invested mainly in cash and short-term bonds - or near cash - to finance the bank’s UK business. Your money will not end up in Nigeria, India or Iceland.  Given the distinctly dodgy reputation of some Nigerian operations - it is the home of internet fraud and corruption is rife - this should provide reassurance to anyone considering FBN’s account. Savings in any of these three banks are covered by the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).  If any of these banks go bust then you can claim up to £35,000 per person per bank as they are all fully authorised by the FSA.