There but for the grace of God...

[ratewhore]

Don't get me started on the Icelanders, they're all terrorists anyway. At least, according to our Glorious Leader...

[placeholder for stab stabbity stab stab smilie]

[Bob Dalek]

But don't put more than £35k in it...

Hmmm... I know that anyone investing should be mentally competent, etc., but I KNOW (see Lewis' site) that many of 'em saw the Icesave articles as advice to "get in there my son!". Sure, Lewis and others peppered caveats all over their articles, but they always do. So all the greedy, and silly, punter saw was "Lewis says Icesave's a good bet". And then the screaming started.

I think the pundits could have been a little more reserved; but punditry is a small market, and each one wants to be that year's Top Advisor, etc., and so, I think, gambled a bit too fast and loose with their readers' dosh.

[Bagpuss]

Northern Rock didn't have the best business model in the world did it?
110% self cert morgages FFS

[Bob Dalek]

Northern Rock didn't have the best business model in the world did it?
110% self cert morgages FFS

You actually don't know anything, do you?

[DimPrawn]

Northern Rock didn't have the best business model in the world did it?
110% self cert morgages FFS

125%

[Cyberman]

Because most people do not see putting money into an established bank as a gamble. You never see a statement at the bottom of an advert for a bank that says "the value of your account may suddenly go down to nothing if we screw up and run off with all your cash", yet you do see "the value of shares can go down as well as up". Maybe we should, but saving in a bank has traditionally been viewed as safer than sticking it under your matress - alas that's not the case these days.

It was obviously a gamble once the moneymarkets dried up and Northern Rock were nationalised a YEAR ago. Banks usually lend more than they have in deposits so that should also tell people something. Some people just go through life with their heads in the sand.

[cojak]

Ok - let's get this thing into perspective - when you look at risk you need to look at the bigger picture.

Icelandic companies (buoyed up by their banks) have been aggressively buying everything they could get their hands on (retail, football, you name it).

With a population of approx 300,000 and a recently de-regulated banking system it was obvious that this spree was based on credit. Their banks need the cash to grow and profit and so sucked in as much as they could.

This was based in the same belief that you and I had - nothing will go wrong with this model....

Unfortunately things did go wrong.

I read the newspapers, I listened to the news, I made my own decisions on lots of factors.

I do use Abbey - upto £35k. The only time I'll go over that (and not by a long way because who can you trust?) is Government bonds.

I'm hoping for a couple of wins on those Premium Bonds I've just bought....

I'm not laughing at people, just surprised that people think that someone else will fix the problem if it all goes wrong.

And I didn't use ICICI either....

[Cyberman]

Ok - let's get this thing into perspective - when you look at risk you need to look at the bigger picture.

Icelandic companies (buoyed up by their banks) have been aggressively buying everything they could get their hands on (retail, football, you name it).

With a population of approx 300,000 and a recently de-regulated banking system it was obvious that this spree was based on credit. Their banks need the cash to grow and profit and so sucked in as much as they could.

This was based in the same belief that you and I had - nothing will go wrong with this model....

Unfortunately things did go wrong.

I read the newspapers, I listened to the news, I made my own decisions on lots of factors.

I do use Abbey - upto £35k. The only time I'll go over that (and not by a long way because who can you trust?) is Government bonds.

I'm hoping for a couple of wins on those Premium Bonds I've just bought....

I'm not laughing at people, just surprised that people think that someone else will fix the problem if it all goes wrong.

And I didn't use ICICI either....

Well said Kojak. At least Iceland shareholders can be happy in the knowledge that they own part of West Ham and that their money is going towards 60K a week salaries for the likes of Lucas Neil.

[Cyberman]

125%

All with the sanction of our wonderful HMG and the Regulators that Brown had neutered.

[Bagpuss]

You actually don't know anything, do you?

Ok give us a lesson on the brilliance of the Northern Rock business model.....