Foreign Perspectives

Unless you’re planning on putting the cash under the mattress, you’re going to need another bank or building society to put your money in when you take it out of the Northern Rock etc., but which one?

Many people will just look up the best buy tables and find that ICICI bank is right up there and move it right over. Somehow I’m not totally sure that putting your life savings in an Indian bank is such a good move. Next choice would be West Bromwich though that’s a fairly small building society, whether they could cope with the arrival of massive numbers of customers is another matter. Bank of Scotland seems the best bet to me with 6% from £5000 although that limits you to 4 withdrawals per year before the rate drops substantially.

But if you’re looking for absolute security, there’s only one choice: National Savings. 4.1 % from £5000 on their Investment Account, 5.15% from £50,000 on their Easy Access account. Deposits with them are effectively deposits in the Bank of England which can’t go bust. You can open these in the Post Office or online (note: these accounts are not the same as the Post Office savings account).