ISLANDERS with money trapped in an Isle of Man bank now in administration are still waiting to discover if they will receive £50,000 back through a depositor protection scheme.

A meeting is to be held on 29 January that should decide if the Icelandic-owned Isle of Man bank Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander will go into liquidation. Depositor Eleanor Balston, of St Helier, said that if the liquidation goes ahead then technically she and her husband should be among those entitled to £50,000 from the Manx depositors’ protection scheme.

But Mrs Balston said that she understood the payment would be dependent on the Isle of Man being able to afford to meet the commitment. ‘We are absolutely in limbo and have been since the bank went into administration,’ she said.

Mrs Balston said that the effects on the family finances had been devastating. ‘It has been horrible. We have had to cash in insurance policies and tighten our belts considerably to meet our commitments as a result,’ she said. Meanwhile, Mrs Balston said that a promised ‘early payment’ of £1,000 from the bank’s administrators had not yet materialised either.