AP Says Party Ending for Savers
The Houston Chronicle's website published the Associated Press article, "On the Money: Fed's rate cuts strike savers' pocketbooks." Writer Ken Sweet explains, "Just when bank customers were finally getting something reasonable for their hard-earned savings, the party is coming to an end. After several years of increasing the meager interest they paid on savings accounts and certificates of deposit, banks are starting to trim their offerings to savers. The declines are slight, usually less than 0.25 of a percentage point, but the trend is certain to continue for at least the next six months to a year, experts say. Blame the Federal Reserve, which cut interest rates in July and is widely expected to cut them again this year to help insulate the economy from the Trump administration's trade disruptions and to support the stock market." The article continues, "Some banks didn't wait for the Fed to cut rates. Earlier this summer Goldman Sachs cut Marcus' online savings rate to 2.15% from 2.25%, while competitor Ally cut its rate from 2.2% to 2.1%. The average online-only bank now offers an interest rate of around 1.68%. After the Great Recession, savers looking to safely store their cash and make a modest return had few, mostly terrible options.... But as the economy recovered, however, and the Fed steadily raised interest rates from near-zero to 2.50% at its highest level, banks started offering more to savers."
