ING Direct Consumer Savings Monitor Report

In late January, ING Direct launched the ING Direct Consumer Savings Monitor, a unique new tracking study which monitors the levels of savings held by ordinary UK adults, and provides financial services industry and finance commentators with the first measure of average savings that is distorted neither by shifts in the assets of the very wealthy, or by borrowing behaviour.

The launch of the monitor - following months of planning and a full year in the field - generated widespread interest, gaining serious coverage in a number of national papers including the Financial Times, and also appearing in the House of Commons Magazine. Henceforth, results will be delivered to ING Direct on a monthly basis, and released to the media on a quarterly basis.

Commenting on the success of the launch, William Nelson, Director of FDS International, strategic insight team 3000ft, who designed and now run the CSM on an ongoing basis, said: "We're delighted that our work for ING Direct is being picked up by such a wide range of commentators and policy makers, and is already establishing itself as a unique and important economic indicator. Designing and running a tracking study that accurately and consistently identifies median savings levels in the UK required all our skills in desk research, modelling, data analysis and sampling design, and we are delighted that the project is now delivering such impressive and insightful results. There was a real need for a robust and continuous measure of the savings behaviour of 'the man in the street', and we anticipate that the ING Direct CSM will continue to be used alongside the official government savings ratio to give a more detailed and complete picture of savings trends in the UK".

For more details visit the Consumer Savings Monitor Report Website.