10 May 2010 / by Lois Avery
Savings held in Britain’s bank accounts helped prop up the banking system according to saveoursavers.co.uk.
Bailed out banks Lloyds and the Royal Bank of Scotland have both reported a return to profitability in the past few weeks, after the tax payer bailed them out with around £17 billion of public money.
But Revd Dr John Strain, of saveroursavers.co.uk, said it was saverthat have helped to keep the banks afloat and that despite historically low interest rates savers have continued to invest their money in Britain’s banks.
He said: “It is clear that savers’ deposits left on the balance sheet of the two part publicly-owned banks has helped them to drive out of debt and into profit. Savers have supported banks through lower interest rates; whilst banks will never pay more in interest than is necessary to attract savers.
“Funding from savers is one of the few things that have remained consistent and therefore reliable for banks during this period of uncertainty; it is they who will be the unsung heroes of the nation’s economic recovery.”
Revd Dr John Strain added that the government should be encouraging personal savings in order to provide a solid foundation for the banking industry, should the economy ever dip dramatically again.
“Like Lloyds, RBS have posted much-improved results. So we need to think, where would our economy – and not least our financial institutions – be without prudent savers.
“We know for certain that banks need to have their arm forced into giving savers a fair deal, so the onus is on the policymaker to ensure that tax incentives are passed on in full to those who try to save for their future.”
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