We have seen the upward trend slow somewhat over the last couple of weeks, and certainly fixed rate bond rises seem to have paused, perhaps even peaked. That said there has still been some news that may be of interest - and some market leading rates that can be nabbed if you move fast.
And of course with the Bank of England base rate rising to its highest level in 14 years, although the fixed rate activity may have peaked for the time being, we should surely see some more variable rate improvements.
RATES ARE CORRECT AS AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION (11/11/2022). All up-to-date rates can be found on our Best Buy tables.
This table has probably been the most active over the last couple of weeks and as we head into the weekend, there is a new top rate – the highest we’ve seen in 10 years.
Al Rayan Bank managed to hang onto the top spot until the last minute, with its Everyday Saver (Issue 3) still paying 2.81% AER.
Marcus re-entered the top five briefly by increasing to 2.50% AER including a bonus if 0.25% for 12 months. However, earlier this week the bonus was removed for new customers, so the underlying rate of 2.25%, while still competitive has been pushed out of the top five.
Investec and Zopa also increased the rates on their easy access offerings to 2.45% and 2.40% respectively but these have subsequently been pushed out by firstly Tandem and Atom Bank – each putting their rates up to 2.55% but finally Aldermore.
On Friday, Aldermore increased the rate of two of its easy access accounts. Easy Access Issue 15 increased to 2.75% but the real star of the show was the rate hike to the Double Access Account Issue 1 – which has shot up from 2.15% to 3% AER, which is the highest easy access rate that we’ve seen for a decade. As the name suggests though, a maximum of two easy access withdrawals are allowed per year, otherwise the rate will drop to 0.10% for the remainder of that year.
Competition has definitely waned over the last couple of weeks, with plenty of withdrawals of the top rates as opposed to increases, in particular on the 1-year table.
So let’s take a look at what has been happening to 1-year fixed rate bonds. The main observation is that while the best rate on offer is still 4.60%, the provider offering it has changed a number of times. As we end the week only the Union Bank of India is paying 4.60% - RCI, United Trust Bank, Vanquis and Oxbury have all withdrawn their bonds. For one day only Oxbury actually jumped to the top of the table paying 4.65% but this was quickly replaced by the next issue paying 4.50% - but even this has now been withdrawn.
Over in the 2-year table there has been a more exciting development. At the beginning of last week Vanquis launched itself to the top of the table paying 5% - the first time we’ve seen this in the history of Savings Champion – so for more than a decade. Although the Vanquis bond has now been withdrawn, Union Bank of India has once again taken on the top spot.
As we turn our attention to our 3-year table once more Vanquis hit the top paying 5%, which was a level that had been briefly touched in mid October by JN Bank. But once again this was only available for a short time. And as we end the week, the top rate on offer is now 4.90% with three providers, Tandem, Secure Trust Bank and Close Brothers Savings.
The bottom two spots are taken up by TSB Bank paying 4.88% AER and The Access Bank’s Sensible Savings 1-year bond paying 4.86% AER. The great thing about both these accounts is they do not have to be opened online! The TSB account can also be opened in branch and the Access Bank bond can be opened by post.
Finally we look over to our five year fixed rate bond table. Close Brothers Savings has retained its lofty top top-spot since mid October, with its five year product paying 5.05% AER. However Close Brothers has been joined by United Trust Bank. And in other good news Tandem Bank and Secure Trust Bank are paying 5% AER – so the top four of our 5-year best buy table are paying 5% or more. If inflation were to drop back down as the Bank of England suggests, tying up some money at this rate will have looked like a shrewd move!
Looking across our fixed rate ISA tables, there’s been a little more activity but similar to the fixed rate bonds, we’ve seen an increase in the number of best buy withdrawals – but some good news nevertheless.
Looking to our 1-year cash ISA table, unfortunately the best rate on offer has fallen over the last couple of weeks. Coventry Building Society which had been offering 3.95% was withdrawn from sale early in November, leaving Secure Trust Bank in the top spot paying 3.90%. But this too was withdrawn, leaving Virgin as the new leader with a lower rate of 3.85%. Charter Savings Bank was a brief hero with a new ISA paying 3.90% but at the last minute on Friday, this too was withdrawn, as was the Virgin Money ISA - leaving OakNorth Bank offering the best 1-year ISA as we head into the weekend, paying 3.83%. A disappointing couple of weeks.
There was a slight uptick in the best rate on offer in our 2-year table over the last two weeks, with the top rate on offer rising from 4.35% to 4.38%.
As with the 1-year ISAs, the previous leader, Coventry Building Society, withdrew its 4.35% ISA early in November but happily Virgin Money was ready to take the top spot paying 4.36% with Issue 534 of its 2-year ISA. And although this was withdrawn as we end the week, luckily Charter Savings Bank had already taken the top spot with its latest 2-year fixed rate ISA paying 4.38% AER.
Our 3-year cash ISA table has been underwhelming over the last couple of weeks too, with the top rate on offer remaining at 4.40% - albeit with a different provider. There was a short opportunity to snaffle a marginally higher rate of 4.41% from Virgin Money but, as with the shorter term ISAs, Virgin has decided to remove itself from the best buys, leaving the Yorkshire Building Society at the top of the table paying 4.40% as we head into the weekend.
Lastly, our five year table and this has shown the most opportunity – although you would have had to be quick to snap up the best offer.
First up, Leeds Building Society went to the top of the table paying 4.31% on issue 144 of its 5-year ISA. United Trust Bank was a close contender improving its offering to 4.30% - taking 2nd place. The next move was from the West Brom Building Society, making a bit of a show by leapfrogging to the top by a huge margin offering 4.75% - but unsurprisingly this was available for just a day.
Secure Trust Bank in the meantime had improved the rate it was offering on its ISA which is fixed until 20th December 2027 – paying 4.35%, so this went into the lead when West Brom retreated. However, as we ended the week, Leeds Building Society has taken the top spot once again with issue 145 of its 5-year ISA paying 4.45% - so quite a bit higher than the top rate a couple of weeks ago.
Our Variable Rate ISA table sometimes includes notice ISAs – although often easy access options dominate. But that’s not the case at the moment with the top account from Aldermore Bank paying 2.80% on its 30 Day Notice ISA Issue 12).
The Ecology Building Society has also upped its offering and is now paying the top easy access cash ISA rate of 2.70% - so you can not only earn a highly competitive rate, but also feel happy that your cash is being used to help build a more sustainable future. According to the Ecology Building Society your cash deposits are used to provide mortgages for properties and projects that respect the environment and support sustainable communities.
We don’t always refer to this table as notice accounts are not as popular as other types of account. But there was some late activity over the last few days that means it’s important to take a look. When the rates on offer are interesting, notice accounts can be a useful halfway house between having immediate access and tying your money up in a fixed rate bond.
There was nothing much to report initially but then Oxbury launched three new notice accounts, dominating the top three spots in our best buy table with a 180 day notice account (issue 8) paying 3.50%, a 120 day notice account (issue 15) paying 3.45% and a 90 day notice account (issue 1) paying 3.40% AER. Maybe worth a look?
It's been a mixed bag over the last couple of weeks, with some winners and some losers. Hopefully the latest base rate increase will see more rate rises - but if you are looking to lock into a fixed term bond, you might want to consider not waiting too long as the momentum definitely seems to have waned a little.
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