SSIA savers reap rewards on equity - B of I

Savers who took the risk on an equity-based SSIA account are reaping the rewards, the Bank of Ireland has claimed.

According to new figures released today by the bank, equity-based SSIAs are outperforming both variable and fixed-rate accounts.

Latecomers to the scheme have benefited the most, achieving almost 8 per cent more on their savings than those who opened a fixed-rate SSIA and up to 12 per cent more than variable rate accounts.

The accounts that were opened later in the scheme avoided much of what the bank described as "equity market weakness", which hit the accounts in 2001/2002.

However, those who opened the equity-based SSIAs at the start of the scheme have not lost out, with returns 5 per cent greater than their fixed-rate deposit counterparts.

This is a marked turnaround from two years ago, when the the equity-based accounts were worth less than the cash SSIAs. Customers who took the risk saw their deposits drag more than 8 per cent behind the cash accounts.

If the equity market continues to grow by 3 to 4 per cent over the rest of the SSIA term, the bank expects equity SSIAs to outpace the cash equivalents.