Savers benefiting from credit crunch
The credit crunch may be hitting borrowers but savers are continuing to benefit, with banks and building societies offering increasingly attractive rates on their savings products.Since the start of the year the rate on the average savings account has increased from 4.23 per cent to 5.25 per cent, a study by MoneyExpert.com has found.The trend has been attributed to growing competition among banks for customer deposits to restore their credit crunch-hit balance sheets. Sean Gardner, director at MoneyExpert.com, said: "Every cloud has a silver lining and the credit crunch clouds have at least helped deliver better deals for savers - or at least those who can afford to save. "It is striking that average rates on regular savings accounts are around one per cent better than they were 18 months ago when the Bank of England base rate was actually higher than it is today."
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