Nationwide 'most trusted provider'

Last Modified: 01 Dec 2008
Source: PA News

Nationwide Building Society is the UK's most trusted savings provider as people search for a safe haven for their cash, research showed.

The mutual came top of a survey in which people were asked where they would put £50,000 if they had to invest it for a year out of a list of 20 providers.

The building society received 14% of the vote, closely followed at 13% by Abbey, which is part of Spanish banking giant Santander, according to the moneysupermarket.com research.

The Post Office came in third place with 10% of people saying they would deposit money with the group, which provides products through a joint venture with Bank of Ireland, meaning it benefits from the Irish government's savings guarantee. Another global giant HSBC came in fourth place, followed by Lloyds TSB in fifth.

Savers have become increasingly conscious of the need to find a safe place for their money following the recent collapse of a number of Icelandic banks, as well as the problems at Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley.

Around 96% of people polled by the survey said the recent financial turmoil had made them more aware of the security of their savings, with 45% saying this was the most important factor they considered when choosing an account, only just behind the 47% who said the interest rate they would get was key.

The new focus on the financial strength of providers has seen money pour into institutions that consumers perceive as being safe.

Nationwide's savings director Matthew Carter said: "Following the collapse of the Icelandic banks, Bradford and Bingley and Northern Rock and the proposed takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB, we have seen consumers move their savings to Nationwide as they look for a safe home for their savings.

"In the first half of this financial year we took £2.6 billion in net receipts giving us a 34% market share."

In a recent trading update, Abbey said deposits had jumped by 70% during the first nine months of the year, which it attributed to the strength of Santander as people looked for a safe home for their money. Opinium Research questioned 2,422 people during November.

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