Many seek safety with National Savings & investments

Many worried savers that no longer want to trust their hard earned cash with regular High Street banks seem to be turning to safe havens such as National Savings & Investments, according to a recent report, with an increasing number of people opting to put their money into NS&I rather than continue putting their trust and cash into the troubled High Street banking industry.

During the last three months of last year NS&I saw its level of savings rise to over £950 billion according to reports, with its 100 percent government guarantee on savings likely to have played a big part in the decision of worried savers to invest in NS&I rather than to risk their cash with the usual High Street banks.

Since the start of the last financial year over £19 billion has been invested with NS&I according to recent figures. Officials from NS&I have said that the level of savings has been unprecedented. It also said that it had resulted from turbulence in the regular financial markets, which has resulted in reduced consumer confidence in the High Street banks, forcing savers to seek alternative savings options.

The many problems that have dogged the High Street banking sector have done nothing to restore consumer confidence in the financial sector, and with government bailouts as well as the problems seen with banks such as RBS, Northern Rock, and HBOS, many are not surprised that consumers are fleeing elsewhere with their cash.