Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has launched its very own online savings account.
Named Marcus by Goldman Sachs, after the bank’s owner Marcus Goldman, it will offer customers 1.5 percent a year, which is currently the best rate on the market.
Having previously trialled the new bank with members of staff, the bank was officially opened to the public on Thursday.
Des McDaid, Marcus’s managing director, said: “Over the last decade savers have been on the wrong end of low-interest rates.”
“We’ve spoken in depth to people across the country and there is a real disillusionment about savings – while most UK adults are diligently trying to save every month, some do not even have a savings account, with low interest rates and complexity being put to blame.”
“We want to reverse the trend – literally putting the interest back into savings and make saving worthwhile again.”
Experts predict the opening of the bank will force competitors to also offer better return rates. Next best on the market is the Yorkshire Building Society, offering 1.41 percent.
Charlotte Nelson of Moneyfacts said: “I definitely think that it will mean other providers will think about upping their rates, but only time will tell.”
“With them launching at such a high rate it’s likely to make the challenger banks sit up and take notice.”
Anna Bowes, co-founder of Savings Champion, said: “Savers who fail to move their money from the shockingly low-paying easy access accounts on the high street are allowing themselves to be robbed.”
“By moving from some of the lowest paying accounts with the likes of HSBC, to a top-paying account such as the new account from Marcus, you can get up to 10 times more interest in a year.”
For the launch of Marcus, Goldman Sachs hired an extra 150 staff in London.
