Bank depositors seek Queen’s help

Saturday 28th February 2009, 10:00AM GMT.

A PETITION to the Queen asking for her assistance to help Islanders recover money trapped in frozen accounts at an Icelandic-owned Guernsey bank was handed into Government House this week.

A total of 37 people signed the petition of the over 100 Jersey-based depositors in Landsbanki Guernsey seeking the return of £3.4 million in savings.

The bank was put into administration last October and the depositors have been told they may be the only British subjects who put their money in now collapsed Icelandic banks not to have their savings returned.

The petition has been organised by the Guernsey-based Landsbanki Depositors’ Action Group and it was handed into Government House to be given to the Lieutenant-Governor, Lieutenant-General Andrew Ridgway to pass on to the Queen.

The representative of the Jersey investors, Eleanor Monaghan, said that she had since been contacted by 14 more depositors who wished to sign and said she would be submitting a supplementary petition in due course.

• Picture: Eleanor Monaghan hands over the petition at Government House. Picture by Jon Guegan (00632667)

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1
Ólafur Ragnar Grímss

March 2, 2009 at 10:35 am

I am very pleased that this petition has been collated and is being delivered to the Queen. I think that sole responsibility is with the UK and Islands governments to reimburse the peoples of Channel Islands for their losses.

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2
Kay

March 2, 2009 at 12:06 pm

Olafur….

Why?

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3
gomann

March 2, 2009 at 12:20 pm

Landsbanki – always Landsbanki, because the office was in Guernsey.

There are thousands of depositors who have money lost/tied up in Kaupthing in the Isle of Man. And the blame for that one lies with [to various degrees] the Governments of Iceland, Isle of Man and UK. British subjects in involved there? Maybe 2000? Sums involved? Mavbe £250 million?

I’m sure The Queen will read the letter – after which nothing will happen.

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4
Good Point

March 2, 2009 at 2:33 pm

This is a failure of local Governments, and we continue to live with it.

The banks that operate out of the Channel Islands and IOM should be legally requirement protect the assets of those companies. Why because a parent fails should the local – supposedly independent offshore bank also fail (which are usually deposit rich) ? The local governments need to get their act together and legislate to protect depositors by ring fencing the assets of these local companies.

A very similar situation to Woolworths, hugely successful in the island, yet it fails and staff don’t get redundancy. The islands need to ensure they have first call.

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