Goldman Sachs says it has usually offered the highest interest rates in Britain since its Marcus savings accounts launched in the country. This helped it attract about 2,000 accounts in the first hour it was available, and more than 250,000 since starting out in September.
Marcus savings accounts offer a 1.5% annual equivalent rate (AER), with a minimum deposit of £1. That puts it at the top of the list for easy-access accounts, according to MoneySavingExpert.com.
Goldman Sachs is best known as a swashbuckling investment bank serving captains of industry, but it expanded into consumer banking for regular people after it obtained a banking license during the 2008 financial crisis. The Wall Street stalwart rolled out its Marcus retail banking division in the US in 2016, and acquired personal finance app and startup Clarity Money last year. More recently, it acquired robo-investor Nutmeg, as its Principal Strategic Investments Group targets affluent investors in Europe.
These days, Marcus has 4 million customers in the US and UK, and the digital-only bank has attracted $46 billion of deposits and made $5 billion in loans. The bank is building out its services in Britain and will soon pivot to other markets, potentially including Germany, said Des McDaid, managing director and head of Marcus in the UK, at the Money 20/20 conference in Amsterdam this week.
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