The FSCS has promised to "pull out all the stops" to help the customers, however.
Customers of Icesave are no nearer to finding out how they will claim back money lost, after the saving's firm's parent company was taken into administration.
Officials in Reykjavik have now taken over Landsbanki, owners of the Icesave brand, after the bank suffered a disastrous loss of investor confidence. The Icelandic economy as a whole, which is very dependent on the financial services sector, has been hit hard by the dramatic worsening of the credit crunch over recent days.
This effectively leaves Icesave's estimated 300,000 UK savings customers in limbo. The situation is further complicated by the way in which Landsbanki was registered in the UK: the current system will see savers claim their first £16,000 back from the Icelandic government, with the remaining money being covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to Britain's savings guarantee of £50,000.
However, due to the apparent meltdown in the Icelandic economy, it is still far from certain whether or not the savings will be returned. Iceland's entire GDP is around £8 billion - while UK savers alone are thought to have £4 billion still invested in Icesave.
Speaking to the Guardian, FSCS chief executive Loretta Minghella said: "We are pulling out all the stops to help those who have deposits with Icesave. We know they will be feeling anxious today and want to reassure them we will do everything we can to help them get the help they are entitled to as quickly as possible."
