This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7683576.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Barnsley Building Society rescued | Barnsley Building Society rescued |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The Yorkshire Building Society is to take over its smaller rival, the Barnsley Building Society. | |
| The Barnsley said it was protecting itself against the possible loss of up to £10m deposited with Icelandic banks. | The Barnsley said it was protecting itself against the possible loss of up to £10m deposited with Icelandic banks. |
| The deal is the latest in the trend towards further consolidation among the UK's building societies. | The deal is the latest in the trend towards further consolidation among the UK's building societies. |
| The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year and there will be no windfall for Barnsley savers, nor will there be a vote of members. | The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year and there will be no windfall for Barnsley savers, nor will there be a vote of members. |
| "The proposal follows swift, pre-emptive action from the board of the Barnsley in approaching the Yorkshire to seek a merger after the identification of possible losses of deposits with Icelandic banks," the two societies said in a joint statement. | "The proposal follows swift, pre-emptive action from the board of the Barnsley in approaching the Yorkshire to seek a merger after the identification of possible losses of deposits with Icelandic banks," the two societies said in a joint statement. |
| In September, the UK's biggest building society, the Nationwide, agreed to stage a rescue takeover of two small societies, the Cheshire and the Derbyshire. | In September, the UK's biggest building society, the Nationwide, agreed to stage a rescue takeover of two small societies, the Cheshire and the Derbyshire. |
| The Yorkshire is the UK's third-largest building society, with 136 branches and 1.9 million members. | |
| The Barnsley has only eight branches and 60,000 members and is the 34th largest society in the UK. | |
| It said that while it had the reserves large enough to absorb the loss of its £10m deposits, it had decided that being taken over by a larger society would be in the best "long-term interests of its members". | |
| Protection | Protection |
| The Barnsley is the latest victim of the implosion of the Icelandic banking system, which has seen hundreds of thousands of UK savers losing access, for the time being, to their money held in accounts of the Icesave internet bank and other Icelandic banking operations. | The Barnsley is the latest victim of the implosion of the Icelandic banking system, which has seen hundreds of thousands of UK savers losing access, for the time being, to their money held in accounts of the Icesave internet bank and other Icelandic banking operations. |
| The society had its money on deposit with Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and with the Heritable bank, owned by Landsbanki, the parent of Icesave. | |
| Personal savers with these two banks were offered protection when the UK authorities arranged for their accounts to be taken over by the Dutch bank ING Direct. | |
| However, the Barnsley has found itself in exactly the same position as dozens of local authorities and charities who put money into Icelandic banks. | |
| They were not covered by the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme and will have to wait for the outcome of the current negotiations between the UK and the Icelandic governments to see how much, if any, money they will get back. | |
| "The current exceptional situation in Iceland and the full extent of the repercussions were beyond anticipation," said the Barnsley's acting chief executive, Steve Mitchell. |