Compensation and guarantee schemes
Compensation schemes protect your money if a regulated firm covered by one of the schemes goes out of business.
If you have savings with An Post, your savings are State guaranteed.
When can you make a claim?
If your bank, building society or credit union has been declared insolvent or a liquidator declares that it cannot repay its deposits. Any loans you have with your institution may be deducted from the balance of your deposit if you were to make a claim under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
Some banks that operate in Ireland are regulated in their home country and operate here under EU rules. These banks include Northern Rock, which is currently under guarantee arrangements with the Bank of England and HM Treasury and Rabobank, which is part of the Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
If you have an account with a bank that operates in Ireland but is regulated in its 'home country', you would usually make a claim under the compensation schemes that are in place in the country where the institution is regulated. Some of the deposit schemes relevant to Irish consumers are:
- UK scheme for Investec Bank plc, Leeds Building Society, Nationwide Building Society and Northern Rock.
- Dutch scheme for Rabodirect.
- Danish scheme (click on brochure in English) for Danske Bank (trading as National Irish Bank)