Jersey

Depositor Compensation Scheme

After much debate Jersey finally enacted a depositor compensation scheme in November 2009.

The Jersey DCS protects deposits up to £50,000 per person.  However, the total payouts from the scheme are capped at £100 million in any five year period, so if the claims on the scheme exceed that amount then the compensation paid to depositors would be reduced. Jersey Government

This means that even if your money is in a smaller bank it would be unlikely that you would receive the "headline" compensation, and if two banks went under within five years of each other, the depositors in the second one would receive nothing.

Total deposits held with the 47 Jersey banks at the end of 2008 stood at £206 billion, an average of £4,385 million per bank. Jersey Financial Services Commission

Government Support

There have been no recent bank collapses in Jersey, so the willingness of the government to help savers in failed banks in their jurisdiction is untested.

However, in October 2008 the Jersey government announced that it was committed to protecting the deposits of Jersey residents although not those of non-residents.

State of Government Finances

With a "rainy day" fund of £600 million, Jersey has the largest reserves of the Crown Dependencies, however the Chief Minister has stated that this would only be used to to repay savers resident on Jersey, should a bank fail.