Here’s where UK savers are putting their money right now, according to NatWest
Key Points
- NatWest customers opened 20% more ISAs in the first half of 2026 than a year earlier
- Instant access savings balances fell as money moved into ISAs and fixed-term accounts
- 32% more of the bank's customers now hold investments than in the first half of 2025
- The average rate NatWest paid across its retail deposits fell to 1.59% from 1.83%
- Fixed-term money now accounts for 18% of the group's total deposits
NatWest customers opened 20% more ISAs in the first six months of 2026 than in the same period last year, while money drained out of ordinary instant access savings accounts.
The bank published its half-year results on Friday (31 July), covering the six months to 30 June 2026. Its retail deposits finished the period at £202.20 billion, down £0.40 billion or 0.2% since December.
Growth in ISA balances and current accounts did not quite cover the money leaving instant access savings, and NatWest attributes the shift to customers prioritising tax-efficient options.
This correlates to an increased move towards investing, the bank said. NatWest reports that 32% more of its customers hold investments than a year earlier, and more than 45,000 people across the group invested for the first time during the half, a rise of over 60%. Its private banking arm took in a record £2 billion of net new investment money.
Fixed-term accounts also gained ground, rising to 18% of group deposits from 17% three months earlier. The Bank of England base rate sat unchanged at 3.75% throughout the period.
Across all its retail deposits, including current accounts that pay nothing, NatWest paid an average rate of 1.59%, down from 1.83% a year earlier.
The bank serves more than 19 million retail customers in the UK, so its deposit book offers one of the clearer readings available on where household money is going.
Despite the increased investing, the bank also warns of increased credit card debt.
NatWest sold a batch of defaulted UK credit card and personal loan debt in June, part of a sharp rise in the amount of household borrowing the bank has written off this year.
Group write-offs hit £487 million across the six months to 30 June 2026, against £192 million in the same period last year. Personal customers accounted for £265 million of that, split between £172 million on loans and overdrafts, £80 million on credit cards and £13 million on mortgages.
Credit card balances in default rose to £296 million from £242 million at the end of December, and the bank’s retail impairment charge climbed to £280 million from £226 million.
