Three billion in savings pulled from ING

Annoyed savers with money saved with ING Direct have pulled three billion pounds in savings from the bank.

Many customers have been outraged by the bank’s failure to pass on interest rate rises to savers, and as a result many have pulled large sums of cash that they were savings with ING. According to bank officials there are a number of customers that have removed large balances from the bank to try and find a better interest rate elsewhere, but the bank also stated that overall customer numbers hadn’t been affected.

According to bank officials ING is not prepared to compromise on services for other customers in order to try and get better rates for others. Launched in 2003, ING Direct has boasted a reputation as a bank that offers competitive rates of interest as well as good customer service. However, the interest rates on savings accounts with ING Direct have been stuck at 4.75% for some time.

The Bank of England has raised interest rates four times in the past year, with interest rate rises in August 2006, November 2006, January 2007, and May 2007. Customers are angry because ING has failed to pass on the interest rates that were applied by the Bank of England in November 2006 and January 2007. However, bank officials state that the latest interest rate, which was announced in May, will be applied to savings account in June.

One ING official stated: ‘The vast majority of customers are still with ING but those customers with higher balances who are rate conscious are people who are constantly looking for best rates in the market. Are there better rates out there? Yes there are. Do those companies pay all their customers the same rate? No they do not. We are trying to be consistently fair with all our customers so 5% is the highest and the lowest interest rate they will receive.’

Tom Smith
4th June 200

Tags: interest, bank, rise, england, savings, customers, market, increase