Scots canny on banking crises

Millions of people would take all their cash out of their bank if it ran into trouble, despite the strengthening of the deposits safety net since the run on Northern Rock five years ago.

But nearly three-quarters of Scots now know they would definitely or probably get their money back if their bank hit the wall, according to new research by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The scheme, which now protects up to £85,000 of an individual’s cash deposited per institution, said just 12 per cent of people don’t think they would get their money back if their bank went bust.

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Scots are the most confident that they wouldn’t lose out, with 73 per cent saying they were aware of the compensation system, compared with two- thirds of people across the UK as a whole.

But a repeat of the Northern Rock run would be on the cards if fears were raised over a bank’s solvency. One in four people said they’d definitely try to get their money out straight away if a crisis hit, while another four in ten said they would possibly do so.