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Irish bank move upsets British bankers
Shuffling through British pounds
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TEXT OF STORY
Renita Jablonski: The chairman of the Eurozone's finance minister said today the U.S. must adopt the rescue plan to help keep global markets in check.
And meantime, British bankers are attacking a move by the Irish government to protect bank depositors. European Correspondent Stephen Beard continues our coverage of the financial crisis with that story.
Stephen Beard: The Irish government announced the emergency measure on Monday night, guaranteeing 100 percent of all Irish bank deposits. But British bank customers have only $100,000 of deposit protection, so they've now been pulling their cash out and plowing it into an Irish account.
Fund manager Justin Urquart-Stewart says in the current climate of fear, ordinary retail deposits have become hot money:
Justin Urquart-Stewart: Yes, you're turning people into hot money traders to seek the best possible defense. And what this means is that we're seeing a rather . . . disjointed action in terms of supporting banks, which is exactly was not what was required.
British bankers say Ireland's 100 percent guarantee is destabilizing and illegal. They claim it amounts to unfair state aid for Irish banks.
In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.
