US retail investors poured close to $250bn into bank accounts in the first months of this year, sharply accelerating a flight to safety as they continued to flee volatile stock markets.

Bank savings deposits rose by $246bn to a record $4,343bn in the nine weeks to March 9, according to data from the Federal Reserve. This is more than the whole of 2008, in which savings deposits rose by $229bn.

It is not clear where all the deposits came from but in the first two months of the year investors pulled $20bn from stock mutual funds â?? almost half the total $43bn redeemed during the whole of 2008 â?? as they appeared to lose confidence in stock markets, according to data from Financial Research Corporation.

During the first nine weeks of the year, investors pulled a small amount â?? $15bn â?? from savings accounts with a period of notice, in an apparent indication they were reluctant to lock up cash for even short periods of time.