How to net a top rate on your savings: As war breaks out among the banks, SYLVIA MORRIS reveals exactly how you can take advantage
Savers have reason to rejoice; rates are increasing. This means that if you haven’t shopped around for a better deal in a while, you need to readjust your expectations.
When it comes to renewing your one-year bonds or cash purchased 12 months ago, you may be tempted to stick with your current provider.
However, they may have made a good offer a year ago, but today there are even better offers.
Maximum, one-year fixed interest rate cash jesus Vida Savings’ share stands at 4.65 percent after several providers increased their rates last week.
This compares with last year’s peak rate of 4.3 percent. That wouldn’t earn a bank and building society a spot in the top 20 payers right now.
Others paying more than 4.5 percent include: Tandem (4.62 percent); Hodge Bank and Close Brothers (4.61 percent); Investec, Coventry BS and Oaknorth (4.6 per cent); Charter Bank (4.58 percent); Furness BS (4.57 percent); and Aldermore (4.55%).
Rate rises: The highest one-year fixed interest cash Isa is at 4.65% from Vida Savings. This compares with last year’s peak rate of 4.3%
It’s a similar story with fixed-rate bonds.
The best rate you could find a year ago was from Cynergy Bank at 4.52 percent. Today, Marcus by Goldman Sachs will pay 4.9 percent, and many will pay more than 4.52 percent.
Even National Savings & Investments has it up to 4.69 percent, compared to just 4.18 percent when you signed up for a one-year bond this time last year.
It offers competitive rates because it aims to raise a whopping £15bn from savers in its current financial year.
Last week the rate on easily accessible Isas rose to over 4.5 per cent. Hargreaves Lansdown raised its interest rate to 4.52 per cent on Friday.
This led it to raise the rate on its app-based Moneybox account to 4.65 per cent, including a 1.2 point bonus for the first 12 months.
Trading 212 tops out at 4.67 percent, including a 1.07 percentage point bonus for your first year in the account.
I’m reluctant to recommend accounts with bonuses to anyone unless they switch at the end of the deal.
But if you’re an active saver, there are rewards to be had from these accounts, so I always want to tell you what’s going on.
In easy-access accounts, Saga increased its rate to 4.5 percent. You can do better with 5 per cent from the Cahoot Sunny Day Saver, but the maximum you can deposit into the account is £3,000 and the rate drops to 1 per cent after a year.
App-based Tembo lets you deposit up to £25,000 into Home Saver and pays 4.55 per cent, but this includes a 1.55 per cent bonus for the first year.
