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Bank Ownership - Who owns who?

The way savers spread out their savings is crucial in terms of protection and compensation.

Changes made by the FSA to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) means savings deposits up to £50,000 (up from the previous £35,000 limit) are now fully protected for all bank defaults after 7 Oct 08 Money. Joint account holders are protected as if each had a separate account and are therefore covered on their first £100,000 per bank.

The important part for savers to be aware of is that the FSCS protection does not apply per account but per financial institution. This means that savers with large pots of savings invested in different accounts with the same bank are only protected on the first £50,000. Therefore it is best for savers to spread their savings over as many savings institutions as possible.

Unfortunately a series of mergers, takeovers, joint ventures and subsidiaries has made understanding the rules of bank ownership even more complex.

There are a number of banks that are owned by the same banking group but which are separately licensed under the Financial Services Authority (FSA), meaning savers can have deposits with two separate banks and be covered under the FSCS for both accounts as along as the banks are owned by the group.

The table below is a comprehensive list of banks and building societies that operate in the UK and who each of them are licensed by. Company names in brackets under the 'licensed by' column note that the ownership of the bank is different to the licence-holder, although it is the latter that is the most important information.

* Nationwide, Cheshire BS and Derbyshire BS plan to become one FSA registered institution in December 2008.