MP calls for help for depositors

KSF Isle of Man bank was closed on 8 October

The British government has been urged to do more to help people in the Isle of Man with savings in Icelandic banks.

Wakefield Labour MP Mary Creagh said up to 2,000 Britons had held accounts in Kaupthing Singer Friedlander (KSF) on the Isle of Man (IOM).

The Manx government will cover deposits of up to �50,000, Ms Creagh said.

But any future payments made were likely to be stretched out over many years, which would not help elderly savers, added the MP.

Ms Creagh spoke about 60-year-old Katy Watt, who was required to open an Isle of Man bank account after moving to the island five years ago.

Talks ongoing

She retired to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, this summer and put all her life savings, including the proceeds of her house sale, into a KSF IOM account.

In October, amid rumours of collapse in the banking system, Miss Watt decided to move her money into her UK-based account.

Ms Creagh told the Commons: "She contacted the bank again and was told the money had left her account. It never arrived in her UK account.

"Her money is lost in the clearing system. Many other people who sought to move their money out have lost these funds in transit."

Ms Creagh urged ministers to meet representatives of the depositors to allow them to put their case.

Economic Secretary Ian Pearson said the problem with Icelandic banks did not originate in the UK but within the Icelandic banking system.

Mr Pearson concluded: "I sympathise with the situation that your constituents have."

He told Ms Creagh he would ask Treasury officials to meet her.

UK Treasury officials are representing the Isle of Man in ongoing talks with Iceland - which nationalised Kaupthing - to retrieve savers' money.

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