People continue to lose out by holding savings accounts which do not offer much in the way of interest, figures from Sainsbury's Bank have shown.

Two-thirds of banks have accounts which pay less than two per cent, and the stats look even less pretty when broken down.

They show that one in three banks or building societies still offer savings accounts offering interest rates of under one per cent, and one in ten provides startlingly low rates of less than 0.5 per cent.

Typically, a savings account will yield little more than four per cent in interest despite the prominence of various high-profile campaigns advertising rates which soar into double figures.

Sainsbury's Bank director of savings Peter Wood summed up the findings, saying: "It would appear that some banks may be offering unacceptably low rates of interest on some of their accounts to enable them to offer more competitive returns on others to attract new customers.

"Savers need to keep a close eye on their rates and be prepared to switch accounts if they feel that they are not receiving consistently attractive returns."