Banks more confident with savings accounts
While banks and building societies have been increasingly offering new savings accounts with high levels of interest recently, one data firm has said that existing customers are not being included in the deals.
Conducted by Defaqto, the report showed that several financial institutions have upped their game in the savings market, including Stroud and Swinton Building Society, which has put a market-leading 4.06 per cent e-bond on offer.
Citi and Egg along with Nottingham and Norwich & Peterborough building societies have also followed suit, announcing high interest savings accounts with rates ranging from 1.8 per cent to 3.65 per cent, depending on how long the term is.
However, the researchers believe that this sudden interest in providing high interest savings accounts is an attempt by banks at raising funds for the languishing mortgage market.
This is done by making recently-announced savings options, such as all of those above, available only to customers with other banks, placing restrictions on transferring from existing accounts in order to ensure that the money is 'new'.
David Black, banking specialist at Defaqto, said: "While it remains the case that many savings accounts are languishing with very low interest rates, proactive savers can still get good deals if they're prepared to move their funds around to new accounts.
"Many of the variable-rate savings accounts that get into the best buy tables are either new launches or are there by way of offering an introductory bonus. Savers should take advantage and jettison inertia," he added.
Online bank Egg recently launched two new savings accounts, both offering competitive levels of interest for customers to make the most of their money.
The Egg Bonus Savings Account provides a rate of 2.80 per cent gross with a bonus of 1.55 per cent for the first 12 months and the Egg Fixed-Rate Bond offers 4.30 per cent AER, with both options open to new and existing customers.
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