Not everyone can afford to save more during lockdown | Torsten Bell

The financial regulator's latest report hints at a bleak prospect of an uneven post-virus recovery

In recent years, the Financial Conduct Authority has started running major surveys to examine the public's financial vulnerabilities. I'm a big fan of this from the regulator of our financial markets and firms - after all, the point of regulation is to improve people's lives. So it's good to see their latest Financial Lives report.

The results are pretty bleak. You'll have heard a lot about the extra saving going on during lockdown. People not being able to spend on holidays or restaurants has led to a staggering 125bn in extra savings. But this report crucially notes that not everyone is racking up the cash. Pre-Covid, 10.7 million of us were over-indebted or had low savings. That has now risen to 14.2 million.

Torsten Bell is chief executive of the Resolution Foundation. Read more at resolutionfoundation.org