Most business savings accounts (58 per cent) pay less than 0.5 per cent gross interest on balances of $50,000.
Where companies have $250,000 saved, 54 per cent of accounts pay less than 0.5 per cent, and only 11.3 per cent pay 2 per cent or above, according to a study from Investec Private Bank.
A spokesperson for Investec says, ‘Generally speaking, the level of interest offered to deposits belonging to UK companies is ridiculously low. Our research shows that for balances of $50,000, 17 per cent of business savings accounts pay 0.05 per cent gross or less, and there are three accounts paying no interest at all.’
Businesses with an annual turnover of between $1 million and $5 million have approximately $48 billion deposited with banks and building societies in the UK, claims the research.