Blow for savers as Marcus closes popular account to new customers
Savers have been dealt a blow after Marcus, the consumer banking brand of Goldman Sachs, announced it will withdraw its popular easy-access account from sale.
Marcus said the move to close the easy-access saver, which pays 1.05pc interest, was a temporary measure and that it hoped to relaunch it later in the year.
It will be closed to new customers this evening. Existing customers can continue to access and deposit cash as normal.
Since launching in September 2018, Marcus has consistently offered one of the highest interest rates in a stagnant savings market. The bank said 500,000 customers have opened accounts and more than £21bn has been deposited.
However, the bank’s growth has been hampered by British financial rules which require that consumer deposits are “ring fenced” from riskier investment banking. As reported by the Telegraph in November, these rules apply when banks hold more than £25bn in customer cash, a figure that Marcus is fast approaching.
A statement issued by the bank said that the “decision to pause new applications has been made in order to manage our deposits in line with our business plan”.
The bank’s other savings account, a one-year fixed-rate saver, was withdrawn from sale in early May but was relaunched last week. It pays 1pc interest a year to customers.
Des McDaid, of Marcus by Goldman Sachs, said: “We are temporarily not accepting new applications for our Marcus online savings account in order to manage our rate of deposit growth. This step will allow us to continue providing great value to our existing customers. We remain committed to expanding our UK retail business.”
The best easy-access saver currently on the market is available from Cynergy Bank, which offers 1.25pc in interest, followed by NS&I Income Bonds, which pay 1.16pc.
The Government-backed NS&I recently reversed its decision to reduce interest rates on some of its most popular accounts, citing the need to support customers during the coronavirus pandemic.
