A good quarter for Child Trust Funds

The balances on cash CTFs rose £23 million in Q3 - up 32% on the same period last year, according to the Building Societies Association (BSA).

To date, 576,000 cash Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts have been opened, with £279 million in total balances.

44,000 CTF accounts were opened in Q3 of 2007 at institutions that offer both the cash and stakeholder option.

73% of parents opted for the cash CTF option in Q3 at institutions offering both the cash and stakeholder option.

Cash CTFs account for about 25% of all CTFs opened by parents.

Commenting on the figures, Adrian Coles, Director-General of the BSA said: "It's encouraging to see that deposits into cash CTFs in the three months to September were up by almost a third on the same period last year. This is not too surprising as deposits into all cash savings accounts picked up over the this period.

"Now is a good time for parents and grandparents to think about contributing to their child's CTF for Christmas. Just a little will help make a difference in years to come."