Money Saving News for January 2009
- Co-operative Bank savings accounts top satisfaction ratings - 30th January, 2009
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The savings accounts provided by the Co-operative Bank have been rated top in an independent customer satisfaction survey.
According to the poll, conducted by the consumer magazine Which?, 80 per cent of the Co-operative Bank's savings account customers are satisfied with the products offered and the level of service they receive - the highest score for any savings account provider... - Nationwide cuts savings account rates - 30th January, 2009
Nationwide Building Society has announced that the rates of interest it pays to its savings account customers will be cut, as will the rates earned by some of its current account holders....
- HSBC reunites customers with cash - 29th January, 2009
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Around 3,500 HSBC customers have been reunited with an estimated £5.5 million in cash that was left dormant in current accounts and savings accounts, the bank has announced.
The customers are the beneficiaries of a HSBC campaign which aims to track down the owners of money in accounts that has not been touched for 15 years or more.
According to the bank there are some 40,000 such accounts, with an average balance of £1,000 each... - Child trust funds gaining in popularity - 29th January, 2009
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Contributing to child trust fund accounts continues to be popular despite the ongoing financial crisis, according to data released by the Tax Incentivised Savings Association (Tisa).
Tisa found that the average monthly direct debit contribution to children's savings accounts rose during the third quarter of 2008, despite the high profile collapse of several banks during that period... - Investigation slams some cheap car insurance sellers - 29th January, 2009
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An investigation by a consumer magazine has found that certain price comparison websites do not return accurate quotes to customers searching for cheap car insurance.
Which? magazine conducted a study of several of the sites and found that some did not display the excess charges they had stipulated and a few even adjusted the charges in order to return cheaper quotes... - Banks losses are manageable, says expert - 29th January, 2009
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An investment expert has claimed that the large losses which have seen many banks write down billions of pounds in debt are manageable in the long term.
Simon Ward of New Star Asset Management said that even if banks' credit losses - from bad debts, sub-prime lending and buy to let mortgages - top £200 billion they could be absorbed... - HSBC offers new bonds - 28th January, 2009
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HSBC has launched two new bonds aimed at over-60s who may be using savings accounts to cover the costs of their retirement.
The bank said it had been taking pensions advice from its elderly customers and had launched the new bonds as a response to enquiries.
HSBC's new bonds offer interest rates of 3.5 per cent on the three-year High-Interest Deposit Bond, or 3.75 per cent on a five-year bond... - Brits search for forgotten funds - 28th January, 2009
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Nearly a quarter of a million Brits have been searching for forgotten funds - money that is lying unused in bank accounts - in the last year, according to National Savings and Investments (NS&I).
The savings account provider, which launched a website aimed at helping people track down lost money one year ago, said that the mylostaccount.org.uk site had received an average of 680 requests a day... - Buy to let mortgage rates unattractive, say experts - 27th January, 2009
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Analysts from one price comparison website have labelled the current rates of interest being offered for buy to let mortgages and other mortgage products "uncompetitive".
According to Moneyfacts.co.uk, the average interest rate means that "there is simply no incentive at the moment for buyers to go out and get a new deal"... - Savings account interest low, says expert - 27th January, 2009
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The interest rates currently being offered on many savings accounts are low, according to experts from uSwitch.com.
A study conducted by the price comparison site found that one in three savings accounts pay a rate of interest of 0.5 per cent or less a year.
This means that customers with the average savings account balance of £2,813 would earn £1.41 in interest over a 12-month period.
Louise Bond, personal finance manger at uSwitch.com, recommended that customers shop around to get the best savings account rates, as the Bank of England's base rate cuts mean many rates are falling...