Expropriating large depositors at troublesome banks is now international policy coordinated by the Bank for International Settlements, GoldMoney's Alasdair Macleod writes today, and while distribution of one's deposits to preserve coverage by government deposit insurance may provide some protection, in the end any wealth held in the international banking system is vulnerable.
"That the BIS feels it has been necessary to co-ordinate G20 nations into a common approach to bank rescues using uninsured non-monetary and financial institutions' deposits is evidence that bank failures capable of threatening the global financial system are definitely an ongoing risk," Macleod writes. "The central banks will have calculated that raiding this category of deposits is a matter of expediency, and any run on deposits out of vulnerable banks can be contained by central banks acting as lender of last resort. This is based on the simple fact that either deposits are moved around the system, or when they are drawn down in favor of something else, the money released remains in the banking system. However, raiding these deposits is only an interim solution, because the underlying assumption is that the financial condition of the whole banking system does not deteriorate further."
Thus, Macleod concludes, gold held securely outside the banking system is the best protector of wealth. His commentary is headlined "Danger in Bank Accounts" and it's posted at GoldMoney's Internet site here:
http://www.goldmoney.com/gold-research/alasda...er-in-bank-a...
