Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Your eligible deposits held by a UK establishment of Bank of Scotland plc are protected up to a total of £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. This limit is applied to the total of any deposits you have with the following: Halifax, Intelligent Finance (IF), Birmingham Midshires (BM Savings), Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland Private Banking and Bank of Wales.

Any total deposits you hold above the limit between these brands are unlikely to be covered.

Please view how FSCS protects your money (PDF, 3.73MB) for further information or visit www.fscs.org.uk.

You can also refer to our FSCS Information Sheet (PDF, 50KB) for more details.

Are my investment products protected by the FSCS?

As well as protection for bank accounts and savings the scheme also provides protection in the event a PRA or FCA authorised company cannot meet claims made against it in relation to investment and long-term insurance products.

The actual level of compensation a client would receive will depend on the basis of their claim. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme will consider each claim individually at the time it is made. FSCS can only pay compensation for financial loss and there are limits to the amounts of compensation the FSCS can pay. Maximum FSCS compensation limits are per person (per provider firm and per category of claim).

Accounts with Halifax Share Dealing Limited

Eligible deposits with us are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). We are covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). For further information about the compensation provided by the FSCS, refer to the FSCS website at www.fscs.org.uk/. You can also visit our Financial Services Compensation Scheme page for more details. Customers may be able to make a claim on this scheme if we default in our obligations to them. Compensation of up to 100% of the first £85,000 of assets held is available to eligible claimants.

How your investments are protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Investments category – Open-Ended Investment Company (OEIC)

For firms that are declared in default on or after 1 January 2010 the maximum limit is £85,000 per person per firm. Where a firm has been declared in default before 1 January 2010, the amounts are 100% of the first £30,000 and 90% of the next £20,000 up to £48,000 in total per person per firm. OEIC funds are not directly covered by the FSCS. However, the firm which runs the OEIC is covered as the Authorised Corporate Director.

For Investment and Long-term insurances claims, customers would be covered per person, per separately authorised institution so you can make multiple claims – one per product category per each PRA or FCA authorised institution which is a member of the scheme. The separately authorised institutions within Lloyds Banking Group are: Scottish Widows Limited, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Limited, Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd and Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Limited.

Long-term insurance category

For firms declared in default on or after 3 July 2015, the maximum level of compensation is 100% of the claim, with no upper limit. For firms declared in default on or after 1 January 2010 and before 3 July 2015, the maximum level of compensation is 90% of the claim, with no upper limit. For firms declared in default before 1 January 2010, the maximum level of compensation is 100% of the first £2,000, plus 90% of the remainder.

Personal Investment Plan, Guaranteed Investment Plan, Guaranteed Growth Bond, Investment Bond and Halifax Bonus Bond, Stakeholder Pension, Flexible Protection Plan and Protection for Life products all fall under the long-term insurance category as they are life assurance products and not classed as Investments under the scheme rules.

For Investment and Long-term insurances claims, customers would be covered per person, per separately authorised institution so you can make multiple claims – one per product category per each PRA or FCA authorised institution which is a member of the scheme. The separately authorised institutions within Lloyds Banking Group are: Scottish Widows Limited, HBOS Investment Fund Managers Limited, Clerical Medical Investment Fund Managers Ltd and Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Limited.