Whilst I am sorry to all those of you who lost savings in the foreign banks problems

You took a risk and lost....

Why should the rest of us bail you out ?

The fact is that had this not happened - you would have been happy raking in your profits - and would not have compensated me for my "lost interest" - which I didn't get - through investing in the (comparatively safe) UK banking system

So - now the shoe is on the other foot - why should I help you ?

This money should have been invested in the UK rather than abroad - you chose the latter due to the higher interest rates which goes hand in hand with higher risk.....

For Comment ...

What I can't understand is that councils, charities and the like were allowed to put money into these types of investments, even after BCCI.

I agree - it reeks of something unsavoury

Councils doing this by putting taxpayers' money in banks that are not completely within the UK, and creaming off the interest, absolutely reeks to high heaven.

As for charities, I think we are just going to have to come to a realisation that they are tax free and low cost businesses that are amassing piles of cash to make money off the back of. Sad, but true.

Twee,

Just a quick note. It seems you have a bit of a lack of understanding so allow me to educate you a little....

1) UK savers with ofshore banks do have to pay Tax to the UK. They pay tax to the UK government on any interest they earn. This is clearly stated when they apply. They are UK taxpayers, they pay tax on their earnings, their interest, they pay council tax, VAT, etc etc etc need I go on???? Also people who live in the IOM need to bank there and have no choice, also UK citizens who live abroad are not legally allowed to bank in UK. Hence they keep their precious £ offshore.

2) Bail them out? Have a quick gander at the news surrounding this case. The UK government has frozen £550 million of the assets from Kaupthing Isle of Man when it seized assets from Kaupthing Iceland. Now if the Isle of Man could just get this stolen money back then it would go a long way to sorting out this sorry mess. The IOM customers dont want the UK tax payer to bail them out. They want their cash back.

These poor people stand to loose everything. Many people put the sale of their houses in this bank (which had a 100% parent guarantee from iceland and was part of one of Londons oldest bank 'singers') and now face poverty.

UK tax payers may eventually have to pay because some UK citizens will have to rely on benefits. This was not the plan for these hard working people. Their hard earned money has been stolen. Their government is ignoring them and normal people are being branded greedy because they deposited their money sensibly (at the time all literature stated so and it had been recomended by financial advisors, it is all very well commenting in hindsight!).

Some poor UK citizens who were living abroad or in the IOM even had no choice.

Please offer educated comments. Do not gloat at other peoples misery.

Everything Jenren says is correct.

Twee - I suggest you look further at the facts of offshore banking, such as the EU Savings Tax Directive, as if you think offshore savers don't pay tax, you are very much mistaken. Most were forced to bank there due to the refusal of UK banks to open new accounts for expat non-residents.

Secondly, savers at Kaupthing Isle of Man are NOT asking for a UK Govt bailout - where did you get this statement from? Kaupthing Isle of Man was a highly solvent bank at the point when the UK Govt forced it to stop trading when it froze the bank's assets held within Kaupthing UK.

All customers are asking for is that approx £600 million of their deposits in the bank, which were loaned by Kaupthing Isle of Man to Kaupthing UK on the advice of the Isle of Man's Financial Supervision Commission, are returned to the bank. Everyone will get their money back, and it won't cost the UK taxpayer one penny.

Sound reasonable?

Twee - you are ignorant and ill informed. It is our carefully considered deposits and life time savings the UK Government have sitting in suspense in the UK and it is our savings that the UK Government are willing to use to pay the UK investors who have lost out in the Icelandic melt down they created. We have paid our taxes an invested wisely. We are demanding our money back - that is all. Do some research! So now on the other foot... why should we help you?!?!

At the risk of getting a patronising response as well, UK citizens who work abroad can have UK accounts. I've been there and done it. They just need to open the accounts while they are still living in the UK. They also usually have the option to open accounts wherever they are working and living.

Investing in a small offshore subsidiary of an overseas bank that subsequently fails cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be described as investing wisely. Anyone whose sole criteria for investing is the highest interest rate should, at the very least, realise now that it was a mistake.

It is also an undeniable fact that much of the money that goes to banks in the Isle of Man, Channel Island and other offshore banking havens does so in an attempt to avoid either the tax man or the auditor.

I would also doubt that even IOM residents would have considered the failed banks as mainstream, high street organisations.

On the plus side, banks by their nature, have a lot of realisable assets even when they fail. BCCI creditors have so far got back 81% of what they were owed and I would expect that there are very few banks who today are as badly run as BCCI were.

maxsteam: - Firstly you need to update your knowledge on the tax issue; Secondly you may wish to chew over the fact that our bank had one of the strongest balance sheets of all the banks in the country until the scurrilous actions of the UK Govt brought about it's demise; and thirdly you should consider getting a life of your own rather than wasting your time commenting on issues you clearly know nothing about, in a forum that is bringing together peoples who's lives hang in the balance through no fault of their own. Sour Grapes.

Do you really believe that you invested wisely though?

If the bank's balance sheet is indeed strong, it will cover what you are owed. I'm not sure why the UK government should get involved with a bank that where you choice was no doubt influenced by the fact that it was outside the UK?

sleeplessnight - if I am so ignorant and ill informed - how come YOU are one of those now wondering if you will ever see any of your carefully "hidden" funds again and mine are still safe in a UK bank ?

Sorry - but in your case - I hope that you don't recover yours

On of the really sad things about this episode is that brings the people who stand behind anonimity and throw eggs out of the gutter.

I have to admit that i have done the exact same thing in the past. I also admit to now being deeply ashamed. People like Twee will always come out of the sewer when things like this happen; i just sincerly hope it DOESNT happen to them.

"Sorry - but in your case - I hope that you don't recover yours" - this just brought me to tears. Twee/Maxsteam, I really feel for you.

In my case i didnt want an Offshore bank account. In my view 'Offshore bank accounts' were for the mega wealthy who wanted to dodge tax. I had to open an Offshore account as i could not open an Onshore account and my Onshore bank had forcibly closed my account and sent me a cheque because i now no longer had a UK address. I spent a lot of time researching offshore bank accounts (even dismissing Bradford & Bingley as it looked a little unhealthy at the time - as was subsequently shown) and KSF ticked all the boxes. My money was not 'hidden'. My lifes savings were effectively in transit. If i wanted to risk my money, i would buy stocks and shares etc. This is everything my family has and so therefore always kept within the safe hands of banks. This just shows that the safest place to have money is actually in a safe in your own home; if anyone has money they cannot afford to lose in a Bank then they are very foolish as is being shown right now.

It now transpires that the cause of its collapse was wholley due to comments and actions by senior members of the UK Government.

Twee/Maxsteam, I so hope you never have to go through what my family has gone through in the last two weeks. Over the course of time some of the KSF savers will nodoubt take their own lives; this is a real tragedy and i'm not entirely sure you reaslise that. If you can find the time, please read the human stories of those affected; it is a human disaster that could have been prevented by our Polititians - history will show just how much the British people have been failed by those we elected to lead us.

Some stories - http://www.ksfiomdepositors.netgenius.co.uk/node/21

Mine - http://www.ksfiomdepositors.netgenius.co.uk/node/21?page=4#comment-13

Twee/Maxsteam, over the years i hope you come to see how horrible what you have written is. Unfortunatley for you these words will exist on the Internet for ever more. I have just gone back and read some things i wrote 6 years ago; and like most current events in my life was reduced to tears.

Mat

Twee, Maxsteam... what a pair of buffoons you are! and worst still, buffoons that are evidently bitter. It's almost embarrassing to read your comments. Do you still not understand the information that has been passed to you on this thread? You still have obviously not grasped the concept of what has happened here. For fear of embarrassing yourselves further please, for your sakes, do not post anymore...

I'd like to take time to congratulate a few posters on here for reaching heights of stupidity that haven't been seen in ages...well done!

Firstly, the vast majority of depositors were just that...depositors. It wasn't an investment of any description, it was like anyone else in the UK walking down to their local branch and depositing their savings...in fact, for a lot of Isle of Man residents caught up in this that's exactly what it was.

Secondly, this isn't a 'tax dodge'. I am a UK resident and FULL taxpayer. I pay witholding tax at source and the rest at the end of the financial year.

Thirdly, most depositors took understandable comfort from the fact the bank they were using had a parental guarantee. You'll find that is the same parental guarantee that the auditors checked, tested and found to be robust. With that in mind it's hardly foolish of anyone to have left their money in situ.

Fourthly, you'll find that it was in fact banks on the UK mainland that required bailing out. RBS, Bradford & Bingley, Northern Rock, Nat West and others. Kaupthing UK and Isle of Man was a solvent liquid bank up until our Government chose to start a financial war with Iceland.

I'm actually happy to see the bitterness that some people hold towards 'offshore depositors'. It reaffirms my belief that people are inherently stupid and a large percentage cannot be educated no matter how hard you try.

As an amusing afterthought - I am willing to bet that the vast majority of users on here who are incorrectly labling these offshore investors as 'tax dodgers' would happily 'dodge tax' themselves if they were given the opportunity or if they had the brains to work out how they could pay less tax perfectly legally. Sadly, what brain power is left after the incoherent rants is only just about enough to keep the vital organs working.

Twee,

Please advise me on the best bank to use. I am British but currently living abroad so do not have a UK address. I was disappoained to discover that for example ING Direct say you must be a UK resident - http://www.ingdirect.co.uk/savings/our_savings/about_our_savings/openonline.asp

All I want is a good rate of interest and a safe place to deposit my money. I want my account to be denominated in sterling.

Which bank do you suggest please, twee?