Building societies’ savings influx in March reached £1.26bn, marking a 70% increase since March 2007, according to the Building Societies Association (BSA).

Adrian Coles, director general of the BSA, said that in the current uncertain economic climate, building societies are viewed by the public as traditional and trusted savings institutions. “Together with the competitive rates of interest they offer, these attributes mean societies continue to attract record levels of savings,” he said.

Coles continued: “Building societies have never relied on wholesale funding to the same extent as many other lenders, and these substantial saving inflows indicate that building societies are less exposed to the restricted availability of wholesale funds than other lenders.”