UK watchdog says steps needed to help consumers switch, compare cash accounts

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Britain's savers get poor valuefrom many cash savings accounts, finding it hard to switch torival providers, the Financial Conduct Authority said in amarket study on Tuesday.

The watchdog said it should be easier for consumers tocompare and switch between accounts in the 700 billion pound ($1 trillion) cash savings market.

A 160 billion pound slice of the market was earning aninterest rate that was at or below than the Bank of England baserate of 0.5 percent in 2013.

"In a good market firms should be competing to offer thebest possible deal and consumers should have the informationthey need to help them shop around," Christopher Woolard, theFCA's director of strategy and competition, said in a statement.

The watchdog put out several proposed changes to publicconsultation, including better information on interest rates andcutting the current 15-day switching time for cash accounts.

($1 = 0.6631 pounds) (Reporting by Huw Jones)