Buffalo News: Near-Zero Savings Rates
The Buffalo News writes "Why most banks offer near-zero interest rates on savings accounts," which tells us, "Consumers aren't benefiting much from their savings accounts these days. Most bank customers are stuck with paltry interest rates on those accounts. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has raised a key interest rate to its highest level since the Great Recession. Savers might wonder: What gives? And more important: What can they do about it? The Fed raised the federal funds rate four times in 2018, but left the rate unchanged at its last opportunity. Most analysts believe the Fed is content to keep the rate between 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent this year. But banks don't have to offer an equivalent interest rate to their customers." The article continues, "In fact, Bankrate.com says the average interest rate on a savings account was a minuscule 0.10 percent, meaning consumers are collecting virtually no interest on their savings. And that rate hasn't budged since the Fed started raising rates more than two years ago." The piece quotes Greg McBride, Bankrate.com's chief financial analyst, "At bigger banks in particular, and at the majority of banks, rates really haven't shown much in the way of improvement.... So the last thing they need to do is raise [interest] rates to bring in more deposits.... They have a tremendous amount of market share and pricing power." Finally, they write, "So why haven't smaller banks, which have less market share, boosted their rates? Essentially, they're trying to make more money."
