Brighter Economic Outlook Stabilising Saving Behaviour

Nationwide UK (Ireland)/ESRI Savings Index increases two points in September

The Nationwide UK (Ireland)/ESRI Savings Index increased by two points to 107 in September as brighter economic forecasts for the country stabilised attitudes towards saving.

Although consumers are more positive about the savings environment, their attitudes towards saving in general have remained relatively static.  In September, 37% of consumers believed that now is a good time to save compared with 27% in August. Only 33% of respondents believed that now is a bad time to save, a decline of 11% from August.

The percentage of people saving regularly in September rose to 44% from 41% in August but there was a 3% increase in the number of people who were not saving at all to 31%.   56% believe that they are saving less than they think they should but only 9% expect to be saving more in the future and 28% believe that they will be saving less.

Commenting on the Index, Brendan Synnott, Managing Director of Nationwide UK (Ireland) said, “The stabilisation in the Index reflects the wider performance of the economy. In the past year, concerns about the economic climate have consistently driven the overall Savings Index upwards and contributed to big variations in responses from consumers each month.  

While the Index is still trending above the 2010 level and there is no indication as yet of an increase in spending by consumers, recent positive announcements on the public finances, the cost of borrowing, jobs and the central bank’s projections for improved growth appear to be stabilising the index as demonstrated by the small increase this month.

According to the latest findings, 56% of people would use surplus cash to pay off debts including mortgages.  33% said that they would save any surplus cash while only 8% said that they would spend it. The percentage of people saving with a precautionary motive remained relatively static at 40%.

“Consumers still perceive a risk in the economic environment and therefore believe that they should save to protect themselves from its possible impact. Until this risk is reduced, it is unlikely that we will see an increase in consumer spending,” continued Synnott.

The largest proportion of regular savers (28%) is saving between €51-100 per month while 26% of people are saving between €101-200 per month.

Index data summary

Month
Savings Index
Savings Attitudes index
Savings Environment Index
Importance of Savings Index
Sep-10 82 82 82 97
Oct-10 94 96 92 97
Nov-10 100 91 109 95
Dec-10 89 97 80 99
Jan-11 108 119 98 97
Feb-11 97 94 100 101
Mar-11 108 91 124 99
Apr-11 103 89 117 96
May-11 128 121 136 97
Jun-11 98 90 105 99
Jul-11 112 99 124 97
Aug-11 105 94 117 99
Sep-11 107 93 120 100

For media queries or interview opportunities, please contact:

David O’Síocháin, Pembroke Communications
Tel: 01 649 6322 / 087 9362440
E: david@pembrokecomms.ie

Nikki Latchford, Pembroke Communications
Tel: 01 6496428 / 086 1026811
E: nikki@pembrokecomms.ie

About the Savings Index

The Savings Index is constructed from monthly research on the attitudes of Irish consumers towards savings.

The Index measures peoples’ responses to questions on their attitudes and behaviour towards saving (The Savings Attitude Index) and conditions in the wider environment (Savings Environment Index).

The Nationwide UK (Ireland) Savings Index is produced from a minimum sample of 800 consumers over 15 years of age. The ESRI carries out the Savings Index research to ensure the indices represent a national sample.

Note: Prior to January 2011 the Nationwide (UK) Ireland Savings Index was constructed using quarter 1, 2010 as its base period. From January 2011, the Index has been rebased using the year 2010 as the base period.

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