Banks and other financial groups are raking in billions due to people holding large amounts in current accounts paying paltry interest, new research suggests.
Over £366 billion is languishing in UK current and savings accounts earnings sub 1% a year, according to a study by the Yorkshire Building Society and data consultancy CACI.
Around 17% of respondents in the survey said they had never checked the interest rate on their savings, while a third said all of their money was in their current account.
CACI estimated there are nearly 13 million current accounts held in the UK that have balances above £5,001 with the average balance held at £23,700.
Chris Irwin, director of savings at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Despite the attention savings interest rates continue to have following the significant [base rate] increases, it’s surprising that there continues to be such large pockets of people who are significantly missing out on savings interest.
“There is still an incredible amount of money not earning returns like they could be.”