Bank of England Money and Credit report - savings are up by £4.7bn. Response from LHV Bank

29 September 2026

Alex Beavis, Interim Director of Banking at LHV Bank, responds to latest Bank of England Money and Credit report for August 2026:

“That Brits are succeeding in putting more money aside is hugely encouraging. Household budgets are under strain, with inflation rising once more, so it would be easy to see saving become less achievable. However, last week GfK’s Consumer Confidence Barometer hit a two-year high, with people becoming slowly more confident about their own financial prospects. It may also be that they are acting now in order to build an emergency fund - ONS research this year found that one in four adults could not afford an unexpected £850 bill, while our own study suggested that the majority (57%) of savers could only cover three months or less of essential costs, despite saving money to cover an emergency.

“However, saving more does not automatically mean people are seeing an adequate return for their efforts. With bank base rate expected to increase in the months ahead, savers should be able to secure an improved deal on their balances, but that will only happen if they are diligent in shopping around and ensuring they are securing a competitive return on their savings, rather than putting up with mediocre interest from accounts which have been left behind. It’s not enough to be disciplined in saving money on a regular basis - you will only truly see the benefit if you put the same level of effort into determining where to save your money.”