One in 10 people in the UK have no cash savings available, while a further 21% have less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found.

The regulator’s latest research also revealed that 25% of people in the UK have "low financial resilience", meaning they have missed payments, are struggling to keep up with commitments, or don’t have savings to help them through difficulties.

Furthermore, 61% of people with more than £10,000 in investible assets held at least three-quarters of these assets in cash, rather than in investments, while 33% of adults with a defined contribution pension have less than £10,000 saved.

As a result, the FCA stated that it wants to see more people holding "mainstream investments to improve long-term returns".

Despite these statistics, the regulator revealed that when consumers seek support, it makes financial pressures “more manageable”.

Of the 1.7 million people who had used a debt advice or debt management service in the past 12 months, 61% said their debts were more manageable as a result.

The FCA also found that there has been progress in access to basic baking services such as an increase in consumers who hold current accounts and a reduction in people being denied basic bank accounts.

The regulator revealed that there are also more people banking online or with a mobile app. There are currently 1.2 million (2%) adults who are digitally excluded, which is an improvement on the 6.9 million figure recorded in 2017.

Executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, Sarah Pritchard, said: "Our data shows that finances are stretched for many - with some unable to save for a rainy day. And we know that some do not have the confidence to invest.

"But there are improvements – more people with current accounts and less digital exclusion. Our strategy will build on this to help people better navigate their financial lives."

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