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Deposit insurance

The deposit protection guarantees the protection of your savings deposits up to 100,000 euros per customer and bank in the event of insolvency.

Deposit protection: security for your savings deposits

Savings accounts, call money and fixed-term deposits are among the most popular investments in Europe because they offer a high level of security. This is thanks to deposit protection, which guarantees the repayment of deposits in the event of a bank’s insolvency. The level of deposit protection varies depending on the credit institution; in addition to the statutory protection of 100,000 euros, there are often voluntary protection systems.

Find out on this page what deposit protection means exactly, how high it is and which countries are covered.

When does deposit protection apply?

If a bank or credit institution, such as a savings bank, becomes insolvent and the repayment of customer deposits is no longer possible, deposit protection comes into effect. This ensures that all depositors get their money and any interest income back at least up to the amount of the statutory deposit protection. Depositors can be private individuals as well as civil law companies, registered associations, foundations and smaller companies.

What deposit protection systems are there in the statutory deposit protection scheme?

In Europe, there are various statutory deposit guarantee systems to implement deposit protection:
  • French Deposit Guarantee Fund (FGDR)
  • Italian Deposit Guarantee Scheme (Fondo Interbancario di Tutela dei Depositi - FITD)
  • Recognized institutional protection systems in various countries, including:
  • Dutch Deposit Guarantee Scheme (Depositogarantiestelsel)
  • Spanish Deposit Guarantee Scheme (Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos - FGD)

Is the institutional protection scheme also a deposit protection scheme?

The term institutional protection is used in connection with cooperative banks and other financial institutions. These protection systems protect all members against insolvency and safeguard customers’ deposits. The institutional protection systems in various European countries are recognized by the national supervisory authorities as deposit protection systems, which means that institutional protection can also be considered as such.

How high is the deposit protection?

In Germany and the Eurozone, the statutory deposit protection is 100,000 euros per customer and bank. In Sweden, deposits of up to 1,050,000 Swedish kronor are protected, while Norway, although not in the EU, offers deposit protection of 2 million Norwegian kroner. The actual protection in euros can vary depending on the exchange rate. Currently, this corresponds to around 101,603 euros in Sweden and around 206,148 euros in Norway, which is double the EU-wide harmonized deposit protection. Some banks in Germany offer additional protection beyond the statutory deposit protection by being members of voluntary protection systems. The amount of this additional protection varies and can be found in the terms and conditions or by asking the bank directly.

Does the deposit protection apply per account or per person?

Deposit protection does not apply to each account separately, but per person and bank. If a depositor has several accounts at one bank, the total balance of these accounts is added together and compensated up to the amount of the deposit protection. However, if there are several banks, depositors benefit from deposit protection per bank.

What does voluntary deposit protection mean?

Banks can voluntarily provide additional protection for their customers’ deposits through deposit protection funds run by banking associations. This increases the amount of compensation in the event of insolvency. Each credit institution decides the amount of voluntary deposit protection itself, with a maximum limit of 15 percent of the bank’s equity, which is to be reduced to 8.75 percent by 2025. However, there is no legal entitlement to compensation. There are various voluntary protection institutions in the EU:
  • Deposit Guarantee Fund of the French Banking Federation (FGDR) for private banks
  • Deposit Guarantee Fund of the Spanish Banking Association (Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos - FGD) for public banks
  • Fondo Interbancario di Tutela dei Depositi (FITD) in Italy for additional deposit protection
  • Belgian Deposit Guarantee Scheme (Fonds de Garantie pour les services financiers) for voluntary protection by private banks

How deposit insurance works in the European Union

Deposit protection in the EU is regulated by various compensation schemes. Voluntary deposit protection only applies when the statutory limit has been exhausted. First, compensation is paid from the “pot” of statutory protection schemes before the voluntary protection schemes are used. The level of protection varies depending on the country and bank and can usually be viewed on the bank’s website or terms and conditions.

Depositors usually do not have to take any action themselves to receive their compensation. In the event of a bank’s insolvency, all depositors are informed and the relevant compensation scheme takes care of the payment. This must be made within 7 working days of the compensation case being established. The right to compensation only expires 5 years after knowledge of the insolvency, as stipulated in the national deposit protection laws.

Does the German deposit guarantee also apply to securities?

Securities such as stocks or bonds, as well as shares in funds and ETFs are not deposits and are therefore not covered by deposit insurance. However, this regulation is generally not problematic, as the securities belong to the investors and are only held in safekeeping by the banks. In the event of the bank’s insolvency, securities and shares can normally be transferred to another credit institution without loss.

Would you like to invest in securities and benefit from attractive return opportunities? In addition to offers for overnight money and fixed-term deposits at Heveller Finanzen Heveller Finanz GmbH, you can also invest in globally diversified and cost-efficient ETF portfolios.

Deposit insurance in Europe

The European Union has introduced uniform rules for deposit protection, which provide harmonized protection for savings deposits in the EU. In the Eurozone, protection is available for up to 100,000 euros per customer and bank, while in Sweden deposits of up to 1,050,000 Swedish kronor are protected. Non-EU countries also offer deposit protection; Norway, for example, protects 2 million Norwegian kroner, and in Switzerland deposits of up to 100,000 Swiss francs are protected.

Every EU state is obliged to implement a national deposit protection system. This regulation is a legally anchored commitment to EU-wide protection of savers and stability in the Union. In the event of insolvency of a bank in another EU country with German customers’ deposits, compensation is paid automatically via the German protection system without the need for complicated processing. This is done on behalf of the foreign compensation institution, without charging Heveller Finanz GmbH.

It can be worthwhile for savers to look for overnight money or fixed-term deposits in other EU countries, as deposits there are also subject to statutory deposit protection. This means investors can benefit from higher interest rates compared to German banks.

Invest money EU-wide with Heveller Finanz GmbH

Call money and fixed-term deposits are safe forms of investment not only in Germany, but throughout the EU. This brings with it considerable advantages, as the interest on investments there is often higher than in Germany. All investment offers from Heveller Finanz GmbH are subject to the EU-wide harmonized deposit protection. The protection is provided in accordance with the provisions of the respective investment bank, which can be read at any time in the information sheet for depositors. In addition, Heveller Finanz GmbH publishes the country rating of the EU countries to provide better orientation for customers.

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