Nearly a third of people in a relationship continue to keep their own bank account, a survey showed yesterday.

Around 29 per cent of people who are part of a couple said they still kept their finances separate from their partner's, according to Tesco Bank.

The group found that it took people an average of two years before they were happy to combine their finances with their partner's.

Even once couples have opened a joint account, 56 per cent still maintain some financial independence and do not pool all of their resources.

But people are more likely to share their savings with their partner, at 47 per cent, than they are their credit card, something just 34 per cent of people do.

A Tesco Bank spokesman said: "Despite sharing so many elements of our life when in a relationship, most of us still try to retain a modicum of financial independence."