The 300,000 UK savers with £5 billion deposited in Icesave, the Icelandic internet bank, today found they were blocked from withdrawing any money from their accounts.

The move follows the decision by the Icelandic Government to take control of Landsbanki, Icesave’s parent company.

Icesave says, in a message on its website, that it hopes to provide more information shortly. But in the meantime Times Money answers some of the key questions anxious savers are asking.

Can savers withdraw their money now?

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No. The website is frozen and all transactions are blocked.

What has triggered this?

The move follows the decision by the Icelandic Government to take control of Landsbanki, Icesave’s parent company.

When can I withdraw my money?

Nobody knows. A spokeswoman for Icesave said: “We are waiting to find out what is happening from the Icelandic Government.”

Is Icesave bust?

No. The Icelandic Government is battling to save Landsbanki and other major banks. As long as it has not been declared bankrupt, savers cannot make a claim on any guarantee scheme.

Suppose Icesave does collapse?

Savers would be entitled to compensation of up to £50,000 under the British guarantee scheme, but the first €20,887 (£16,317) would be the responsibility of the Icelandic scheme.

Will the Icelandic scheme be able to pay out, given the upheaval in its banking?

The Icelandic scheme has only £88 million to cover £13 billion of deposits. The Icelandic Government is supposed to cover any short- fall, but there are doubts about whether it can guarantee deposits totalling twice its GDP.

What if the Government can’t pay?

Icesave says that, as a last resort, Sweden, Norway and Denmark are committed to backing Iceland in an emergency.

Might the Treasury bail out British depositors with Icesave if all else failed?

Highly unlikely. The Treasury said Icesave was Icelandic, so the prime responsibility lay with Iceland. The Treasury had no plans to go beyond fulfilling its obligations under the deposit guarantee scheme.

I have savings with Kaupthing Edge. Should I be worried?

Savers with Kaupthing are in a better position than those with Icesave because, thanks to Kaupthing’s link with Singer & Friedlander, it qualifies in full for Britain’s £50,000 scheme.

I managed to withdraw my money from Icesave yesterday, but it says it takes four days to transfer. Will it come through?

It is not certain, but as the transfer process takes several days and things came to a halt yesterday, there is a sizeable chance that the money will be stuck in the system.

I save with a British bank. What cover do I have?

Your savings are covered up to a limit of £50,000 per financial group, so if you have money with Abbey, cahoot or Bradford & Bingley, which are all run by Santander, your total compensation limit would be £50,000. But if you spread it across different banks, the maximum would apply to each account.

Is there any danger that a British bank could collapse, leaving me penniless?

Very unlikely. The Government is not going to let a British bank go under.

What can savers do now?

Very little. Wait. The Icelandic Government said yesterday that Landsbanki was in receivership and would be taken over by the Icelandic financial supervisory authority.

Is there a helpline I can call?

No. Icesave said that savers should keep checking the website for information.

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