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Topics: Martin Lewis, Money
Danni King
Martin Lewis has issued a warning to anybody with a UK bank account after recent share price revelations.
The financial journalist, 51, who is the founder of MoneySavingExpert and the go-to guy for all things money-related, has taken to social media to reassure UK bank account holders that, despite this latest development, all is not lost.
Martin said he'd received numerous questions about the implications of shares in Metro Bank plunging to new lows and wanted to reassure people their money is not currently at risk.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, the TV presenter said: "A number of questions coming in about savings protection on the back of news of poor financial results at Metro bank.
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"While I need to stress this DOESN'T mean afaik [as far as I know] anyone's money is currently at risk, it's always good to know the score, in the unlikely event the worse happened."
Martin went on to explain that if you have £85,000 or less in savings there's currently no risk.
"In a UK regulated institution, for consumers, the first £85,000 you have per PERSON saved is guaranteed by the FSCS. So if you've less than that there's nothing at risk (money from a life event eg house sale has up to £1m protected for six months) It is worth saying that even in the crash of 2007, this was rarely brought into play for savings, instead the govt simply forcibly ported collapsing banks' savings books (ie all their savings) to larger safer banks so all money was protected and no one lost owt," he wrote.
He added: "There's no guarantee of that, but it is probably the most likely attempted rescue scenario if any bank did go under."
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Martin's warnings came after shares in Metro Bank dipped and the bank revealed it is looking to sell off assets in a bid to raise cash.
Metro Bank is looking to raise around £600 million in capital to help refinance its debts, with chairman Robert Sharpe meeting with city regulators on Thursday to ask for help.
The bank, which currently has 76 branches across England and Wales, was set up 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis and was the first hight street bank to open in more than 100 years.
Metro Bank was founded by American Vernon Hill, who said he wanted to do things differently to other high street banks.