Though the Fed raised funds rates multiple times the past two years, credit unions and banks so far resisted raising deposit rates to match, while consumers wait for some positive action.

Research and analytics firm Raddon's recent study, “Deposits Insights: Still Waiting for Rising Rates,” authored by Randy Sager, senior research analyst, found dissimilar to the borrowing public who anticipate taking action, depositors remain surprisingly unmotivated by the rate environment.

That's just one of the findings from this year's state of the industry study on the depositing and investing habits, expectations, and behaviors of the American consumer public.

In a blog, Andrew Vahrenkamp ‎senior research analyst for Raddon picked up on three trends from the 2018 Raddon study:

1. Consumers are not noticeably tracking deposit rates. “Only 7% of Americans are actively tracking interest rates and will move their money to a new institution to get a better interest rate,” Vahrenkamp ‎ observed. That's basically the same percentage as the 8% who said they were tracking rates in 2007, when the Fed Funds rate was close to 5%, unlike the 1.16% at the time of the survey. Deposit rates were correspondingly higher as well.

Another 32% watch rates but rarely find a rate that is worth their trouble to switch. “Again, this percentage is basically the same as in 2007,” Vahrenkamp noted. “One would have expected the long-term low-rate environment to have quickened enthusiasm, but that has not happened for America's depositors.” Even among the largest depositors, those with at least $50,000 in deposits at all institutions, only 16% actively track rates and will move.

2. Consumers require a significant premium to take action. Just being a few hundredths of a percent better than the competition will not ensure new funds. First, 41% of consumers will not move their funds to a new institution for any price, suggesting they placed higher value on non-price attributes like convenience, service quality, availability, or technology. Second, only 11% will move for anything less than a 1% rise. Nearly double that number (19%) would move to a new account at the same institution, showing the risk of cannibalization in the search for new funding.

“Financial institutions could consider a strategy of special new products to attract new dollars and retain at-risk money, while maintaining their floor rates for those customers who value your institution for reasons beyond price,” Vahrenkamp wrote.

3. Consumers save for a variety of reasons. increasingly, it is clear that while the credit union and community banking industries have done well in understanding consumer rationale for borrowing, they do not have the same level of comfort for saving. “For example, we know that a customer does not want to get a mortgage: they want to buy a home. No one seeks out an auto loan: they want to buy a car. We have been quite effective in tailoring our message to those desires,” Vahrenkamp suggested.

Consumers are clear about why they want to save, and none of those reasons have to do with opening a deposit product. Thirty-nine percent of consumers want extra funds for emergency purposes, a percentage that jumps to 44% of millennials. Twenty-six percent want money for retirement, but that applies to 32% of Baby Boomers.

Vahrenkamp asked, “Do your other deposit products make sense? Can you explain them clearly? Do those products meet your customers' needs and help them achieve their goals?” Consumers are still waiting for higher rates to come. They have savings objectives, but those objectives can vary widely. “Marketing products to those needs can help drive demand without relying on rate.”

Instant Insights /

Consumers Wait It Out While FIs Resist Deposit Rate Hikes: Raddon Study

Related Stories

Recommended For You