Open season has been declared on savers as financial institutions go in search of a slice of the estimated £1 billion (€1.27 billion) to be invested under the new Government special savings incentive scheme.

With such a glittering prize, it was to be expected that institutions would be jostling with each other for customers. As the scheme opened this week, EBS and Quinn Life were scrapping over whether active management of equity funds was a better or worse option than passive management (tracking). However, judging by their relatively unattractive rates on deposit accounts - which are forecast to take the lion's share of money put aside under the scheme - some of the big players seem to have decided that the administration involved in the scheme is too onerous to bother with. Either that or they believe inertia will result in investors sticking with the big players regardless of the rates on offer. Hopefully, discerning investors will give such arrogance the response it deserves.