New ‘Save to Borrow’ account gets the customer vote

New ‘Save to Borrow’ account gets the customer vote as it joins Bank of Ireland’s 250,000+ regular savers club

Launched just eight weeks ago, Bank of Ireland’s new ‘Save to Borrow’ product already accounts for more than one in ten of new regular savings accounts opened each week at the bank. Over 5,000 regular saver accounts have been opened since the start of November, and close to 50,000 new accounts have been opened over the past year. The Bank now services over 250,000 regular savings accounts for customers.

The new ‘Save to Borrow’ account is designed to help customers establish a savings habit and also support a future borrowing need, if required in the future. There is no commitment to borrow, but if a customer saves for 12 months they can apply to borrow up to five times their regular savings, up to a maximum of €25,000. While loan approval is not guaranteed, in every case, the bank will look at all available options for customers. The Save to Borrow account pays a 3.50% EAR variable rate for monthly regular savings up to €7,000. Customers can save anywhere from €150 to €1000 each month – and can choose to change monthly saving amounts at any time within this range. Customers may also lodge ad-hoc lump sums to the same account if they wish, although these funds attract a lower 1% EAR variable rate.

“Regular Savings accounts are the Bank’s most popular savings vehicle. Given the bonus interest rates available and relatively light restrictions, it’s easy to see why this is a favoured product option. The direct debit is also a key selling feature for this account type, as it acts as an efficient money manager for customers moving funds from a current account into a savings account in a structured way, without hassle, each week or month. We now have a suite of four regular savings products which cover a diverse range of customer needs, from teenage saving through to saving for a specific lending requirement “, said Mark Kelly, Deposit Product Manager at Bank of Ireland.

Commenting on people’s motivation for opening a regular savings account, Kelly notes that the driving force is quite varied – “Recent research we conducted showed that holiday, car, and general ‘emergency’ fund requirements were the most popular motivating factors – but house deposit, education and special occasions were also cited as reasons to begin building up a lump sum. In terms of amounts saved, our average monthly saving is between €200-250.”

At Bank of Ireland we have over 20 savings products that span a wide range of needs from ATM Card Instant Access Deposits, Regular Savings, Short-term Notice accounts and products offering 1-Month to Multiple Year term rates. We also have dedicated savings and investment advisors available across our nationwide branch network”.

Save to Borrow Account Details:

This single account holds two balances – a ‘regular saving’ and ‘lump sum’ balance.

Earn 3.50% EAR Variable on regular savings up to €7,000
(save from between €150-€1000 each month)

Earn 1% EAR Variable on any ad-hoc lump sums lodged to the account
(up to €20,000 permitted annually).

Maximum amount allowed in the regular savings balance is €7,000. Once this threshold is reached, €7,000 is automatically transferred to the lump sum balance

Ends 4^th January 2011

^{For further information contact:}

^{Mary Brennan                                                           Mark Kelly}

^{Group Communications                                             Deposit Product Manager}

^{Bank of Ireland                                                        Bank of Ireland}

^{Tel: 076 623 4781                                                    Tel: 01 6044293}