Why Bank of England is looking to bolster UK protections for savers

Up until the 2007 collapse of Northern Rock, the financial services compensation scheme only promised to repay 80% of the first £35,000 held in a failed bank or building society. Photograph: Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters

When Andrew Bailey revealed in a speech that the Bank of England was working on updating Britain’s deposit insurance guarantee scheme, which gives government protection on savings up to £85,000 in the event of a bank run, it was with one eye on the recent shocks, and the other on events from 15 years ago.

Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley, and Icesave may sound like names from another era, but the memory of what happened in 2007 and 2008 still reverberates around the Bank’s Threadneedle Street offices to this day.