Bank of Ireland and ESRI launch monthly Savings and Investment Index

Bank of Ireland and ESRI launch monthly Savings and Investment Index

Bank of Ireland and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) have announced that they are partnering on new monthly research, the Bank of Ireland Savings and Investment Index. The Index, which launches in the coming weeks, will delve into how consumers view the savings environment and their sentiment towards saving in the future. On the investments front, the Index will uncover where people are investing their money, how they feel about the amount they invest and whether they think it’s a good or bad time to invest.

The new partnership will see Bank of Ireland take ownership of and further enhance this long-running ESRI research. The original Index, the Nationwide UK (Ireland) Savings Index, launched in January 2010 and focused solely on consumer sentiment towards saving. The new Index adds insights into consumer attitudes towards longer-term investment intentions and will also look at how difficult or easy it will be for consumers to live comfortably during retirement and how financially prepared they are.

Speaking about the new Index, Brian Vaughan, Head of Bank of Ireland Investment Markets said; “It is timely and appropriate to partner with the ESRI and establish the Bank of Ireland Savings and Investment Index. As the largest financial services group in the country we believe that it’s important to assess and track what consumers think about savings, pensions and investment. The newly established Index will also provide perspective on how people view retirement and how financially prepared they feel they are for the future.

“Against the backdrop of the evolving demographic trends of an ageing population, together with low levels of pension coverage and lack of awareness of the need to plan for retirement, Bank of Ireland sees this Index as providing critical insights on customer needs and will inform how we address these needs.

“Decisions made by individuals about their saving and investment intentions over the coming years will have important implications for economic recovery and we are pleased to work with the ESRI to produce this Index. As well as contributing to our Group business planning, we hope that the Bank of Ireland Savings and Investment Index will become an important reference source on personal savings and investing trends across Ireland.”

Commenting on the announcement, Conor O’Toole, Senior Research Officer, ESRI said; “We are delighted to be partnering with Bank of Ireland on the Savings and Investment index and we are particularly looking forward to the addition of the investment component and the additional analytical insights into consumer behaviour. We think this will be a very valuable addition to our understanding of the household sector in the Irish economy.”