IoM depositors take fight to Trafalgar Sq's fourth plinth

Sarah Griffiths

After launching a YouTube campaign to raise awareness of their plight, disgruntled depositors in collapsed bank Kaupthing Singler & Friedlander Isle of Man (KSFIoM) have taken to the fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar Square to voice their gripes.
Nick Campling, representing the KSFIoM Depositors' Action Group (KSFIoMDAG), took to the plinth last Saturday as part of sculptor Anthony Gormley's One & Other live art project.

AdvertisementOne & Other is inviting 2,400 members of the public occupy the usually vacant fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square for an hour each for 100 days.

The collapse of KSFIoM has frozen many depositors' savings since October last year.

Campling filled his one hour plinth slot by warning onlookers not to bank on the Isle of Man and sang a song inspired by the collapse of the bank called ‘Manx Alchemy'.

He was joined by fellow depositors waving banners with slogans such as "Banking on the Isle of Man could seriously damage your wealth".

Holding a business account with the failed bank, Nixi's company was forced to reschedule development on new products because of "banks acting like casinos", he says.

The catchy song, with its resounding chorus of "Alchemists on the Isle of Man turned gold into sand" is available here, alongside other depositors' videos on YouTube.

"Why should we be treated this way when the bankers and politicians made hay and our life savings are gambled away- bring on the revolution," he sings.

Campling says he is "absolutely incensed" by the treatment of depositors and blames the Isle of Man's "prevarication" about placing the bank into liquidation for causing eleven months of hardship and stress.

"That was my motivation for the Plinth activity - the world needs to know that all British tax paying citizens have NOT been protected and compensated," he says.

"There are serious questions and reviews required in regard to the Isle of Mans' seemingly lax regulation and ability to exist independently. "

The bank's liquidator, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has recently started distributing the first dividend, with depositors receiving at least 22.1p in every pound.

The Isle of Man Government has also started returning cash-strapped savers' money under its Depositors' Compensation Scheme (DCS). It will return a maximum of £50,000 leaving some depositors with larger amounts saved out of pocket.

A spokesman for KSFIOMDAG says: "Our frustration continues - our experience of the Isle of Man and the way it operates should deter others from trusting their money to this jurisdiction.

"Depositors continue to use all means possible to publicise their case."

• Note Nick's comment on the IFAOnline site correcting the story as follows:

The song reflects the individual experiences of a number of depositors with the failed bank.. I am happy to be able to correct your report and tell you that my own business is OK. We were fortunate enough to pay a large invoice to a supplier just before the bank went under and so reduce our deposit to a managable level... But it was a close run thing! It would have been ironic if we received a Queen's Award and went bust in the same year! Nick