Fortis Bank / An Post

Account in Fortis: what should we do?

Due to the nature of my husband's work (works for EU projects) our main bank account is in Belgium in Fortis. They will only pay you into Belgium and up to now Fortis offered us good terms.

The announcement yesterday of Fortis' troubles has terrified us, as we stupidly have most of our money with them (nearly 200K).

My husband is heading to Belgium on Monday and going into the bank first thing. We had thought of transferring half the money to our Irish account.

How safe is a bank like Fortis? How safe is our money? What will happen if the bank goes bust? How safe are the Irish banks?

At this stage we are thinking of buying an apartment with the money (not in Ireland). Is that the right way to go?

We are not shares savy and would not be happy putting our money into shares particularly at the moment.

Any advice appreciated as we are pretty terrified.

K
 
Re: Account in Fortis: what should we do?

Is this not also the Postbank? Is it safe in Ireland? I do not want the hassle of claiming bank off the Irish government, how long would it take?
 
Reuters report: Fortis nationalised

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE48Q2X320080928
PARIS (Reuters) - An informal offer by French bank BNP Paribas for rival Fortis has been abandoned by Belgium in favor of a nationalization, a source familiar with the talks said on Sunday.
"The Belgian government has preferred a nationalization," the source told Reuters.
The source said BNP Paribas had made an informal offer of 1.6 euros per share for Fortis and had been seeking a state guarantee for any possible future losses at Fortis of up to 6 billion euros ($8.78 billion).
Click to expand...

I have seen elsewhere that it will be the Belgian, Luxembourgian and possibly Dutch governments that will be doing the nationalisation. It should mean that Postbank deposits are secure, I suppose?

edit: there have been a number of different reports this evening, so apologies if this changes again later - this is the story that seems to have legs.
 
Re: Reuters report: Fortis nationalised

yoganmahew said:
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE48Q2X320080928


I have seen elsewhere that it will be the Belgian, Luxembourgian and possibly Dutch governments that will be doing the nationalisation. It should mean that Postbank deposits are secure, I suppose?

edit: there have been a number of different reports this evening, so apologies if this changes again later - this is the story that seems to have legs.
Click to expand...

Seems to be that way. Also seems that Post Bank here is run independently from the rest of the group and only takes deposits so won't be affected by group liquidity problems.
 
Hi folks,

I got the following from a postbank staff member who is a friend.

Postbank in strong position and not impacted by current market turmoil

As you have probably heard this morning, the Governments of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have invested €11.2 billion in Fortis Bank. This action ensures the financial strength and stability of Fortis going forward.
I would like to reassure you that Postbank continues to be in a strong position and is not impacted by the current market turmoil. We are an independently managed bank with an Irish Bank Licence. We have a strong capital and liquidity position. Postbank is backed by two strong shareholders in An Post and Fortis, both now with government backing.

Through our sales and front-line staff, we are reassuring customers of our solid position. See attached the Q & A’s which we issued to sales staff today.

I would ask all of you in the company to reinforce the strong position of Postbank particularly with our customers and the public over the coming days.

Margaret Sweeney
Chief Executive
29 Sept 2008

Postbank’s shareholder Fortis gets strong Government backing


The Governments of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands have invested €11.2 billion in Fortis Bank.
This action ensures the financial strength and stability of Fortis going forward.

Postbank would like to assure its customers that it is not impacted by the recent news in relation to Fortis.

Postbank is an independently managed bank with an Irish Bank Licence and covered by the Deposit Protection Scheme.

We now have two very strong shareholders with An Post and Fortis supporting the company.

Please continue to refer the the Q & A’s which we issued last week

1. Postbank does not have any financial exposure to the sub-prime market nor do we have any mortgage risk;

2. We have seen an exponential growth in the number of customers opening accounts with Postbank. Every day we have hundreds of customers placing their confidence in Postbank;

3. Customers have instant access to their money across all our savings accounts;


4. Postbank offers simple, straightforward products, with no hidden penalties or conditions;

5. Postbank provides competitive interest rates on our savings products (both Solid Saver and Premium Saver accounts);

6. Our current account, the Everyday account, offers fee-free banking on everyday transactions;

7. Postbank services are now accessible in every one of 980 post offices nationwide. We have the largest retail banking network of any other bank in Ireland. This is a significant investment in offering convenience and accessibility to our customers;

8. Postbank has high quality and confident shareholders in:

- An Post, a trusted semi-state body has 50% shareholding in Postbank Ireland Ltd.
- Fortis which now has solid partners and shareholders in the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments.

9. Postbank takes every step necessary to safeguard all funds invested with the bank. Postbank invests the money in short-term accounts, with a very wide spread and diverse group of financial institutions. We do not invest in shares or equities and hold only a small amount with any one financial institution. We have a dedicated treasury manager who monitors and takes action on our portfolio on a daily basis.


If specifically asked if Postbank is state-guaranteed?
Postbank is NOT State Guaranteed. We are however, backed by strong shareholders in An Post and Fortis, regulated by the Irish Financial regulator, and covered by the two banking protection schemes:
the deposit protection scheme and the investor compensation scheme.

Deposit Protection Scheme
Postbank is a member of the Deposit Protection Scheme. Customers monies are protected under this scheme to a maximum of 100k.

What is the Deposit Protection Scheme? This is a scheme that can provide compensation to depositors if a credit institution is forced to go out of business. It covers deposits held with banks, building societies, credit unions and other types of deposit-taking institutions regulated by the Irish Financial Regulator.

What is covered under the scheme? The Deposit Protection Scheme covers: current accounts; demand deposit accounts; and term deposit accounts; held with banks, building societies, credit unions and other types of deposit-taking institution regulated by the Irish Financial regulator.

Who can claim under the scheme? • Ordinary customers• Sole traders and small businesses• Partnerships• Trusts• Small companies• Charities• Voluntary organisations• Accounts held in trust by solicitors (such as for personal injury awards)

What are the Compensation limits? The maximum amount you can get under the scheme is 100% of all deposits, subject to a maximum compensation payment of €100,000 for each credit institution regulated.
 
To respond to interested parties on www.askaboutmoney.com Regarding Fortis and Postbank.

Postbank is in a strong position and not impacted by current market turmoil

We would like to reassure all customers that Postbank continues to be in a strong position and is not impacted by the current market turmoil. We are an independently managed bank with an Irish Bank Licence. We have a strong capital and liquidity position. Postbank is backed by two strong shareholders in An Post and Fortis, both now with government backing. 1 and 2 below hopefully answer the two prevalent themes.

1. What is the story with Fortis?

Fortis is now one of the strongest and stable banks in Europe. It has just received €11.2 billion investment from government. This clears up any uncertainties around Fortis. It is now strongly government backed.

2. Why is your money safe with Postbank?

  • We are a very strong Irish bank, not impacted by any of the current events in the banking market.
  • We have an Irish Bank Licence and we are regulated by the Irish Financial Regulator.
  • We operate and manage our own banking operations in Ireland.
  • Our customers funds are managed by Postbank and not by An Post or Fortis.
  • Your money is invested by us in a conservative manner.

Regards

Postbank
 
Let's not beat around the bush you are only covered to €100,000 with Postbank.
 
Strictly speaking yes (unless they apply to join the govt scheme).

But the risk of Postbank getting into trouble is extremely low as they are very liquid. They are a new bank and have no mortgage book yet, no dodgy loans to developers and no personal loan book yet. They are probably one of the few banks in the world who are long on cash, the CUs would be in a similar position.

Also Postbank are 50% owned by the state through An Post and 25% by the benelux govts through Fortis.
 
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