Skipton International Shortlisted for Top Island Award

ST PETER PORT, Guernsey, December 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Skipton International (http://www.skiptoninternational.com/), the local mortgage and deposit account specialists, has been shortlisted for the Best Medium Business category in the 2010 Guernsey Awards for Achievement, which covers local companies of between 11 and 45 employees.

With a strong focus on customer service and the local community, Skipton International's team of 31 are all based in Guernsey. The bank takes great pride in the fact that all phone calls to the office are answered directly by locally based employees. Staff development and training are also key strategic goals for the bank which regularly supports key developmental training initiatives such as external business qualifications.

Since its foundation in Guernsey 15 years ago Skipton has always played a high profile role in local life supporting community events such as the Floral Guernsey festival, where Skipton have been the lead sponsor since 1996, as well as many other events such as the Liberation Day celebrations. This year, Skipton International revitalised the promotion of the Guernsey Swimarathon (http://www.swimarathon.org/) one of the oldest local charity events, where all funds raised go to local good causes. 2010 saw over 1200 swimmers in 185 teams raise more than GBP40,000.

In business too, the bank is a winner. Earlier this year, Skipton International scooped the prestigious Moneyfacts 2010 award for Offshore Business Accounts. Moneyfacts is the leading independent researcher of banking and savings accounts in the UK. The bank was also voted Best US Dollar Account Provider by readers of Investment International, a key industry title.

Commenting on the bank's nomination, Managing Director Alan Bougourd Said, "This nomination is a real vote of confidence in our company and in all of the staff who work here and I am thrilled on their behalf. Our employees are our business, they are our public face and their professionalism and training is the reason why we are so well regarded by both business partners and customers alike."

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

    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 GBP14 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: http://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 www.skipton.co.uk.

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

    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