Deposit protection could rise to £0.5m

Any such action would depend on whether the EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive provides the UK with the scope for the FSCS to do so. The current maximum deposit protected by the FSCS is £50,000 per individual per bank or building society. But some bank customers occasionally have balances far in excess of this at a single institution as a result of transactions such as selling a house, receiving an inheritance or pension lump sum, or an award for personal injury. The FSA has proposed increasing the amount protected to £500,000 in these exceptional circumstances, though there may be a...