Instant access non-ISA saving accounts continued to dominate savings balances in December, accounting for 62% of the entire savings market, Paragon Bank analysis of the latest CACI data shows.

CACI’s database, which captures savings data from more than 30 leading providers, showed savers continued to focus on non-ISA instant access accounts, with total balances in this field growing to £614 billion during the month, up £5 billion from November and 10%, or £57 billion, from a year ago.

Overall savings balances hit £988 billion in December, up from £985 billion in November and £953 billion from the same month a year ago. The average balance also crept up to £12,576 from £12,511 on November.

The month showed a slight improvement in the proportion of savings accounts earning less than 0.1%. The data highlighted that 81% - or 40.6 million - saving accounts earned 0.1% or less, down from 82% in November. This equates to £420 billion earning 0.1% or less in December.

ISA balances continue to decline

Total ISA balances continued to drift during the month, totalling £265 billion, down from £266 billion in November and £270 billion in December 2020.

Instant access ISAs dominate the ISA market, accounting for 69% - or £184 billion - of balances, followed by fixed-rate balances at 28%. Compared to December 2020, instant access ISAs are up by £3 billion, whilst fixed-rate accounts have fallen by £8.5 billion to £74.5 billion.

The segment of the market that has achieved the greatest growth is regular saver ISA accounts, growing £500 million year-on-year to £6 billion.

Derek Sprawling, Paragon Bank Savings Director, said:

“Savings balances continued to increase during December, which may have been prompted by the onset of the Omicron variant quashing Christmas social plans.

“The good news for savers appeared to be a slight decrease in the number of accounts earning l 0.1% or less. However, that still means that £420 billion of balances are earning a poor rate of return, which given the current inflationary pressures, means that savers are losing out. I would urge savers to review their accounts and make their money work as hard for them as possible.”

For further information contact:

Michael Clarke
Head of Media Relations
Paragon Bank
Tel: 07740090746
www.paragonbank.co.uk 

Notes to editors:

CACI produce an analysis of deposit stock from the main deposit banks providing data from more than 30 providers, based on individual adult cash savings. It allows us to focus on savings accounts, by combining all account types and both ISAs and non-ISAs. Unless stated otherwise, all data in this release is sourced from: CACI’s Current Account & Savings Database, as of end of December 2021 

Paragon Bank PLC a subsidiary of the Paragon Banking Group PLC which is a FTSE 250 company based in Solihull in the West Midlands. Established in 1985, Paragon Banking Group PLC has over £13 billion of assets under management and manages over 450,000 customer accounts.

Paragon Bank PLC is authorised and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered in England number 05390593. Registered office 51 Homer Road, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3QJ. Paragon Bank PLC is registered on the Financial Services Register under the firm reference number 604551.