New 40 Day Notice Account Offers Premium Rates to Businesses and Personal Investors

ST PETER PORT, Guernsey, June 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- New 40 day Notice Account Launched

- Sterling Offshore Deposit Product

- Minimum Balance GBP10,000, Earn up to 2.10% Gross/AER on Deposits of GBP100,000 Plus

Skipton International (http://www.skiptoninternational.com/), the Guernsey based savings and local mortgage specialist, has launched a new variable rate savings account targeting both offshore individual savers and business deposit accounts with interest rates of up to 2.10% gross/AER. The International Premium 40 account ( http://www.skiptoninternational.com/savings/productDetails/internationalPremi um40.aspx) offers two interest rate tiers, with balances from GBP10,000 to GBP99,000 earning 1.90% gross/AER and accounts with over GBP100,000 on deposit achieving the top interest rate of 2.10% gross/AER. Annual interest on both business and personal deposits is paid on 1 June.

Monthly income options are also available paying 1.70% gross monthly and 1.90% gross monthly across the two tiers. Monthly interest is paid on the 20th of each month.

The account has been designed with flexible access features to allow any amount of GBP1000 or more to be deposited at any time, whilst withdrawals for sums of GBP1000 or more are only permitted after 40 days notice has been given. The minimum deposit is GBP10,000 and the maximum investment allowed is GBP5 million.

Commenting on the new account launch, commercial director Jim Coupe said, "This new account offers both private and business savers higher rates of interest than the 30 Day account it replaces, so we are expecting it to become a popular everyday savings vehicle at the centre of our customers' portfolios. The account is simple to operate with a minimum transaction of just GBP1000, the only real requirement being to give 40 days notice of withdrawals."

Skipton International Ltd offers a range of sterling, euro and US dollar accounts and is part of Skipton Building Society, the fourth largest in the UK with over GBP15 billion assets.

Editor's notes:

1) AER stands for Annual Equivalent Rate and illustrates what the rate would be if interest was paid and added each year.

2) Skipton International Limited (SIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Skipton Building Society (SBS), the UK's 4th largest building society with over GBP15 billion assets.

3) SIL is licensed under the Banking Supervision (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 1994, as amended.

4) Skipton Building Society has given an undertaking agreeing to discharge the liabilities of SIL in so far as SIL is unable to discharge them out of it own assets and whilst SIL remains a subsidiary of Skipton Building Society.

5) As a Licensed Bank in Guernsey, Skipton International Limited is a participant in the Guernsey Banking Deposit Compensation Scheme (the "Scheme") established by The Banking Deposit Compensation Scheme (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance, 2008 (the "Ordinance"). The following is a brief summary of the Scheme, but is not intended as a substitute for the actual wording of the Ordinance, a copy of which is available on request.

    - The Scheme only applies to 'qualifying deposits', which
      broadly means deposits made by natural persons for their own benefit;
      with a few limited exceptions such as, for example, deposits made by
      trustees of retirement annuity trust schemes, the Scheme does not apply
      to companies, trusts, partnerships or charities.
    - The Scheme will provide compensation in the event that a
      Licensed Bank is unable to repay its depositors. Under normal
      circumstances, payment will be made within 3 months of receipt of a
      valid claim form.
    - Compensation is limited to a maximum of GBP50,000 per
      individual claimant; in the case of a joint account each depositor
      would be entitled.
    - Total Scheme compensation in any five year period is limited
      to GBP100 million. If claims exceed this cap, compensation would be
      reduced pro rata. The cap also means that compensation in respect of
      any one bank cannot exceed GBP100 million.
    - The amount payable may be reduced if the Bank has any
      contractual right of set-off against the account. The Scheme is
      entitled to recover compensation from any funds subsequently paid out
      by the Bank.
    - Further information and a leaflet about the Scheme is available at:
      Website: www.dcs.gg
      Telephone: +44(0)1481-722756
      Post: P.O. Box 380, St Peter Port, GY1 3FY

6) Deposits made with SIL are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the UK Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

7) SIL places funds with SBS and thus its financial standing is linked to SBS. Publicly available information, including reports and accounts, is available from http://www.skipton.co.uk.

8) Copies of the latest SIL audited accounts are available on request.

For more information on Skipton International savings products, visit http://www.skiptoninternational.com or call +44(0)1481-727374

    Media contacts: Please contact:
    Guy Stephenson/Jennifer Duffy
    Nacelle Limited
    Tel: +44(0)20-8333-9125
         +44(0)7980-241-558
    E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Skipton International