Goldman Sachs to launch UK savings bank

According to reports, the bank is opening its doors to low net worth consumers with an online access account that can be opened with a minimum £1 deposit.

The new savings bank is to be named Marcus after Marcus Goldman, the company’s founder, and will go live next month after Goldman’s 6,500 London staff were offered the chance to open accounts yesterday.

Though market conditions may impact it in future, Marcus is set to pay a 1.5 per cent interest rate on deposits, which it claims will be the highest in the market.

Unlike a current account, the savings account will not allow direct debits but will offer easy access to cash if needed.

But the rate would be a boon for UK savers, who have endured years of record-low interest rates, with the average currently at 0.55 per cent, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk.

The highest rate is currently offered by the Bank of Cyprus UK – 1.41 per cent on an easy-access savings account for 12 months before dropping down to 0.85 per cent. Virgin Money offers 1.3 per cent.

An internal memo to Goldman Sachs staff said the bank was looking for “feedback before officially going to market”.

A public statement to The Times newspaper, the firm said: “Our initial offering aligns to one of Marcus’ core tenets, offering transparent, simple and easy-to-use products that provide value.”

It adds that the UK launch “represents an important milestone in the growth of Goldman Sachs’ consumer business, as well as continued diversification of the firm’s funding.”

Goldman has already launched its Marcus account in the US, bolstering its retail deposits, diversifying its revenue streams and taking pressure off regulatory stress tests.

The US Marcus account also offers loans, but The Times says there are no immediate plans to do so in the UK.