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Low-interest bank accounts keep savers GBP12m out of pocket

Thu, 28 Oct 2010

Savers are missing out on an estimated £12 billion a year in additional interest because banks keep them in the dark about the "miserly" returns offered by many products, a new report has warned.

According to consumer group Which?, around half of the more than 1,200 savings accounts currently on the market offer an annual rate of 0.5 per cent or less. A quarter come with interest rates of 0.1 per cent or under, it added.

Which? claims that many providers "aren't being upfront" about these low returns, as few include information about the interest rate being paid on a deposit or accounts offering better performance in regular statements. "Banks are depriving British savers of £12 billion a year by keeping us in the dark about the pitiful interest paid on hundreds of savings accounts," said the body's chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith.

Industry body the British Bankers' Association responded to the report by arguing that financial institutions "have no interest in keeping customers in the dark". It said information on returns is "readily available" in branches, on the internet or via independent best buy tables and comparison sites .
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