The mutual came top out of a list of 20 providers in a survey in which people were asked where they would put £50,000 if they had to invest it for a year.

The building society received 14 per cent of the vote, closely followed at 13 per cent by Abbey, which is part of Spanish banking giant Santander, according to the research for moneysupermarket.com.

The Post Office came in third place with 10 per cent of people saying they would deposit money with the group, which provides products through a joint venture with Bank of Ireland, meaning it benefits from the Irish government's savings guarantee.

Another global giant, HSBC, came in fourth place, followed by Lloyds TSB in fifth.

Savers have become increasingly conscious of the need to find a safe place for their money following the recent collapse of a number of Icelandic banks, as well as the problems at Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley.

Around 96 per cent of people polled by the survey said the recent financial turmoil had made them more aware of the security of their savings, with 45 per cent saying this was the most important factor they considered when choosing an account, only just behind the 47 per cent who said the interest rate they would get was key.

The new focus on the financial strength of providers has seen money pour into institutions that consumers perceive as being safe.

Nationwide's savings director Matthew Carter said: "Following the collapse of the Icelandic banks, Bradford and Bingley and Northern Rock and the proposed takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB, we have seen consumers move their savings to Nationwide as they look for a safe home for their savings.

"In the first half of this financial year we took £2.6bn in net receipts giving us a 34 per cent market share."

In a recent trading update, Abbey said deposits had jumped by 70 per cent during the first nine months of the year.

Only six per cent of people questioned in the survey said that they would put money with Halifax, which is in the process of being taken over by Lloyds TSB.