• New market-leading savings account from Goldman Sachs launches on Thursday
• Account pays 1.5%, compared to current market leader Yorkshire Building Society at 1.41%
Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, comments:
“More competition in the savings market is sorely needed. Savers have suffered record low interest rates for a long time, so if a newcomer with a higher rate can shake things up, savers will benefit.
“Marcus occupies a middle ground between the high-street banks and the new, digital-only start-ups. The challenger bank will appear much like a start-up, with accounts only available online, but it has the backing of global investment bank Goldman Sachs.
“Savers have been reluctant to move from well-known, high-street brands to unheard of start-ups, so this may offer an appealing alternative. That said, Goldman Sachs’ name has not always been covered in glory, once being dubbed ‘the great vampire squid’ and for some the banking giant’s reputation from the financial crisis will still be too fresh.
“Marcus has already launched in the US, and has maintained its high savings rates there, which shows promise for UK customers. However, many banks have launched with market-leading rates only to slash them when they have lured enough customers in – relying on the apathy of customers not to switch to a better account. Whether Marcus is truly going to maintain its higher interest rate in the UK remains to be seen.
“It’s also worth noting that while Marcus is offering a market-leading rate, it’s only 0.09 basis points higher than current top-payer Yorkshire Building Society – amounting to an extra £9 a year for someone with £10,000 invested.”
