The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) provides £85,000 of protection for each person who has saved money in a registered bank or building society in case it goes bust. This rises to £170,000 for joint accounts. So, if you’re a single person with £170,000 in savings, you could protect the full amount by putting £85,000 in two separate accounts held by different savings providers. But keep in mind that many banks operate under shared licences, for example HSBC and First Direct, which means you are only protected up £85,000 even if you have accounts in both banks.