Money News
Savers are much more cautious now than a year ago, with one in ten people thinking their money would be safest under the mattress, according to new research from the Newcastle Building Society. Indeed, in light of the credit crunch, the number of people preferring to stash their cash at home has almost trebled (from 4% to 11%), and peaks as high as 15% if you live in the Midlands and Wales region. However, more savers would prefer to invest in building societies than anywhere else, with 34% believing them to be the safest places.
The past 12 months have seen the number of people choosing to invest in either banks or building societies decline by 17%. A year ago, almost three quarters of people surveyed would have considered banks (28%) or building societies (46%) to be the safest places to invest their money.
Confidence in banks has declined by 5% over the last 12 months with just 23% of savers now considering them the safest place to invest their money. And the number of people who are unsure about the safest place to put their money has almost doubled to 13%.
An additional 19% would choose not to invest with traditional financial institutions at all. Age can also affect attitudes towards investing money with 41% of people aged over 55 currently considering building societies to be the safest place to house their savings. This drops substantially to only 21% in people aged from 18 to 24 years.
Wendy Lee, Commercial Director at Newcastle Building Society says: "These findings are a stark sign of the times, but they are also exacerbated by the hype surrounding the 'credit crunch'.
"With some attractive savings products available, you might think people are barmy to stash their cash at home. Unfortunately, some savers now have an exaggerated view that investing their money with a building society or bank can be a risky business, which is not the case."
28 April 2008 © Moneyextra.com
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