Current Events > Savings interest rates hit rock bottom just as Americans stash away more cash

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https://tinyurl.com/y2flm3lg

Never have Americans saved so much money and earned so little on it. For those stashing cash, the average savings account rate is down to just 0.05%, or even less, at some of the largest retail banks, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Rates have fallen significantly since the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate to essentially zero to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus crisis. (Although the Fed has no direct influence on deposit rates, they tend to be correlated to changes in the target federal funds rate.) At the same time, bank deposits have ballooned since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, pushing rates even lower and allowing banks to reduce what they pay depositors.

With so many Americans at a standstill, the personal savings rate how much people save as a percentage of their disposable income hit a historic 33% in April. It has since backed off that record high as pandemic-related assistance programs started to wind down. However, the rate is still near 13%, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, higher than it has been in four decades. Even at rock-bottom interest rates, banks have been inundated with deposits just as loan demand dropped off, said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. As long as the economy continues to struggle, the Fed has said it will keep rates down. That means savers shouldnt hold out much hope for a better deal in the year ahead, according to McBride.



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It was weird seeing many say they were going to put the stimulus into savings. Having an emergency fund is good. But after that any extra money inside it is pointless. Interests rates are like .001%.

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Savings account interest rates were shitty to begin with, now shittier but nobody was relying on them for returns anyway.
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yep and we're about to see home rates skyrocket because of it, in fact it's happening now. this is going to further promote a societal shift and new brands of politicians.

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