Promises, pledges and a pile of protection

Go back to 2008 ... it's the visual images that stick in the mind more than the words. The pink and black logo; the meandering queues; the besieged branches; thousands of ordinary savers desperate to withdraw their savings from the once mighty, now seemingly defunct, bank. Northern Rock or financial quicksand?

And then there was Iceland - and that pre-volcanic eruption in its fissile banking sector. The cash had gone up in smoke the way the ash was about to. Ordinary savers left stranded once again. Those of us on the sidelines gawped in horror as our fellow investors faced up to the appalling reality that their nest eggs had gone, vanished, vamoose. They'd been robbed within seconds. Would we be next?

And so it was offshore with the collapse of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (IOM). And suddenly expats around the world experienced that same numbing sense of insecurity not knowing what calamitous news they'd be waking up to the following morning. Whose bank would Humpty Dumpty its depositors next? And where, of where, were all the King's horses to help savers ride out the mess they found themselves in? Could any of the great finance houses be trusted? Any statement believed? And it all went on for long enough to compel the rest of us into making panic withdrawals. We scratched around like headless chickens looking for safe havens where none were to be found.

I know from personal experience, because whereas I didn't have have savings with Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander (IOM), I did have some tucked away with another offshore deposit-taker on the Isle of Man. In my case I had a pot of euros and was obliged to go to Offshore Britain with them because no bank in the UK at the time I was looking offered a straightforward euro savings account. And yes, when KSF(IOM) went down, I didn't hang around. I pulled my pot out quicker than any bank manager could say, "one bank collapse doesn't make an industry crash."

This wasn't entirely rational because the reason I'd chosen the Isle of Man over another offshore finance centre in the first place was solely down to the fact that this one offered depositors - the small guys - not just deposit protection, but deposit compensation. Plain and simple. And although I didn't have to suffer the same agony as KSF(IOM) depositors who endured months of insecurity about whether they'd ever see their money back, that situation has now changed; deposits have been restored. So I needn't have worried.

I believe it's time the rest of the expat saving world heard the good news.

Every single depositor with KSF(IOM) qualifying for the compensation scheme (which post collapse was raised from £30,000 to £50,000) has now received that latter sum back. This Island's government proved its maturity and stepped up to the plate by meeting its obligations in full. What's more, the liquidator's work has not finished; there are hopes of going further; the target is to compensate depositors with at least 93p in the £1, whilst hopes remain that eventually the full 100% will be recovered.

So what now? Well, after my recent tour of the Island finding out how the government has honoured its pledges to depositors, irrespective of their nationality or place of residence, and given that my own plans for future spending remain euro-centric, it's time for me to get this particular savings pot back on track. To which end, I'm bringing my next egg back to the Island. My choice is swayed by the one centre that has proved how it behaves when disaster strikes. The Isle of Man keeps to its pledges. As a saver this tells me all I need to know.

And what's my cut off point? It's very straightforward. The regulator guarantees that not a penny less than £50,000 will, in the face of a banking collapse, be recovered for each and every depositor. So, on that premise, not a penny more of that total breaks the ceiling of my deposit with each and every deposit-taker.

The Isle of Man has proved itself by sticking to, indeed improving on, its guarantee to depositors. That's the contract we have as depositors with the regulator. Now all we have to do is interrogate the middle man - the deposit-taker - and to hunt around for the best bargains. Happy shopping!