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I have a sum of money in a European bank, and I prefer to have it in a current account for two reasons. One, I don't know how much over the coming year I will need to spend without notice and two, the savings accounts aren't offering interest rates high enough for me to even bother wasting my time to sign the paperwork. The bank is an Austrian one, but I live in another EU state, where the bank has a locally operating subsidiary.

However, given the economic outlook now as a result of the circus in the US, I am concerned we will be facing another banking crisis within a couple of years. In the event of bank failure, the state under EU regs guarantees deposits up to a certain amount. But are there any conditions to this? Must they be saving account deposits or do current account deposits apply too, for example?

Further, which state guarantees the account? The state where the account holder is resident, the state where the bank account is, or the state of the bank account's company, or something else (eg: an EU fund)? (And for extra bonus points, how, if at all, is that affected by Brexit?)

Sentinel
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The limit is €100,000, or the equivalent in the local currency. So it's £85,000 in the UK. That's guaranteed by the state where the bank is registered to do its business.

The guarantee applies to any personal cash savings accounts, including current accounts. It doesn't apply to other forms of investment.

The limit is €100,000 per bank, not per account. This can get complicated if a bank trades under several different names. Subsidiaries may be registered as banks in their own right, or may simply be brand names used by the one bank.

Simon B
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