The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said today that banks are providing more competitive rates to UK savers and that people are moving their money to take advantage of offers.
According to the FCA, from July 2023 to October 2023, deposits held in fixed-term savings and savings accounts where notice is required to take money out increased by £17 billion.
The increase in fixed-term accounts came as the volume of deposits held in bank and building society non-interest-bearing accounts and easy access accounts fell by £11 billion.
This follows the 14-point action plan set out by the FCA in July, which aimed to monitor the speed and amount at which base rate rises in interest rates were being passed on to savers.
The financial regulator’s action plan also aimed to set out higher and lower easy access rates available on the market.
Sheldon Mills, the FCA’s executive director of Consumers and Competition, said there is a more competitive savings market now than in July, including many easy access accounts paying above 5% interest.
"But there are still low paying accounts out there, particularly products that are no longer on sale,” said Mills.
“We want firms to keep prompting customers in lower paying accounts to move, and we encourage customers to shop around for the best savings deals.
“We will continue to closely monitor the savings market in 2024 to ensure that customers receive fair value.”