A sole trader has €60,000 in a personal deposit account and €80,000 in a business deposit account with the same bank. What is the maximum total amount she could claim under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme for these two accounts with that bank?

• A. €60,000
• B. €100,000
• C. €126,000
• D. €140,000

Answer: (B)

Deposits are protected up to a fixed cap per depositor at each bank. For the Deposit Guarantee Scheme, that cap is €100,000 per depositor per credit institution. A sole trader is treated as one depositor, so personal and business deposits held with the same bank count toward the same limit.

Here, the trader has €60,000 in a personal account and €80,000 in a business account at the same bank, totaling €140,000 with that bank. The scheme will cover up to €100,000 for that bank, so the maximum amount that could be claimed under the scheme is €100,000. If the deposits were at different banks, each bank could guarantee €100,000, potentially €200,000 in total, but with both accounts in one bank, the cap applies once.