In our latest Savings Champion Awards, there was one provider who stood out by winning a number of awards, including the prestigious ‘Best Savings Provider’ Award as well as 'Best Cash ISA Provider'.
We therefore thought you
might be interested to find out some more details about Shawbrook Bank and why they were deserved winners.
We have always believed that it is important to recognise those providers that have helped to keep some competition alive in the savings market, offering savers an alternative to leaving their funds languishing with the high street banks.
Shawbrook Bank won several awards, demonstrating that it regularly offers customers competitive, and often market leading, savings accounts. The bank offers these good rates across a range of accounts including easy access, notice accounts, fixed rate bonds and cash ISAs.
Background Information – who is Shawbrook Bank and where do your savings go when you open an account with them?
Shawbrook Bank was founded in 2011 with the aim of building a specialist financial services company that combines the benefits of the innovation and expertise that technology can offer, along with the old-fashioned customer service importance that customers want from a bank. As a result its customer base is growing rapidly and the bank now has over 300,000 UK consumers and business customers.
Shawbrook offers a variety of savings accounts including easy access, notice accounts, fixed rate bonds and cash ISAs to both individuals and micro and small sized businesses. The bank now has over £8bn in customer deposits.
These savings help the bank to offer a broad range of specialist lending products, with the lending book having exceeded £8bn during 2021.
Shawbrook’s lending products extends to personal loans; property finance for professional landlords and small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) acquiring both residential and commercial properties; and business finance for UK SMEs requiring specialist finance to support their growth, working capital and strategic funding needs.
We asked Shawbrook for examples of businesses they have lent to in 2021, and particularly liked this one which saw the employees of precision engineering firm Retrac take ownership of the business from Chairman, Andy Carter, whose father established the business in 1972, via an Employee Ownership Trust.
The Swindon based firm employs 122 staff and supplies highly complex parts and components to Formula 1 teams and major manufacturers in automotive and aerospace.
Dan Walmsley, CEO at Retrac Group, said:
“In 50 years, the family and employees behind Retrac have earned an excellent reputation for working with leading names in manufacturing to solve critical engineering and design challenges.
“The new EOT gives our team full security for safeguarding this legacy, and over the firm’s bright future as we target growth by helping clients realise tomorrow’s technologies, like electric-powered flight and motorsports. As a specialist lender, Shawbrook Bank proved itself as a dependable partner throughout this process and its support has been instrumental in helping us to begin this new chapter for the business.”
Today’s Savings Market
Since Shawbrook Bank launched in 2011, many of their accounts have featured in our best buy tables regularly and across the board, from easy access and easy access cash ISAs, to notice accounts, fixed rate bonds and fixed rate ISAs, really establishing itself as a trusted savings provider.
At the time of writing, the bank’s Easy Access Account Issue 28 is in the top spot of the Easy Access Best Buy table, paying 0.67% AER – and it’s a simple account with no bonus and no restriction on the number of withdrawals that can be made.
Shawbrook is also in pole position in the Notice Accounts Best Buy table, with its 120 Day Notice Personal Account Issue 50 paying 1.08% AER.
Shawbrook Bank was one of the first of the so-called ‘challenger banks’ to really tackle the cash ISA market and started to offer these products in early 2015. At the moment, Shawbrook is offering the top Easy Access Cash ISA paying 0.61% AER and although less prominent in the Fixed Rate ISA market at the moment, it is still paying the 4th best rate over 1-year and has only recently dropped out of the 2-year table.
In addition to competitive savings rates, Shawbrook Bank has focused on providing a simple online account opening and management system, plus has knowledgeable, helpful and friendly staff available via their UK call centre.
A final word…
It is tempting to stick to the high street names when it comes to savings accounts, but in doing so you may be missing out on some of the best rates on the market. Shawbrook Bank has been around for over a decade now, and it continues to offer competitive products and great customer service. Providers like Shawbrook Bank are driving real competition in the savings market.
The best strategy is to look at all options and take each provider on its own merits, considering alternative providers to get the best returns for your money. As long as you do your research (or ask us for more information!) and are comfortable with the provider, there is no reason not to consider them in future.
Shawbrook is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). In addition, Shawbrook Bank is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so funds placed with the provider would be covered up to £85,000 per person, should the provider go out of business.
For more information on the FSCS, please take a look at our handy guide or call us on 0800 011 9705 to speak to one of our expert savings advisers.
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