Can you believe that it’s May already? And as we enjoy another bank holiday, there is also some positive savings rate news to enjoy too.
RATES ARE CORRECT AS AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION (30/04/2021). All up-to-date rates can be found on our Best Buy tables.
After weeks of very little action among the best easy access accounts, Kent Reliance has launched a new market leading account. The Easy access account – issue 45 - matches the Yorkshire Building Society Annual Access Account rate of 0.45% AER – however this new account from Kent Reliance does not limit the number of withdrawals allowed – so it’s gone straight to the top.
You can also apply for the account by post and in branch, as well as online, so it’s sure to appeal to many of you.
So, following on from our last update, the action certainly has continued and we’ve detailed exactly what’s been going on in our article Fixed Rate Bond battle pushes rates upwards.
But in summary, the 1-year, 2-year and 3-year tables all have new leaders. The new 1-year bond from Atom Bank is the most startling as, for a change, rather than just pipping the then leader (Shawbrook Bank paying 0.63%) it is offering 0.70% AER – the highest rate seen in almost three months.
United Trust Bank has taken the top spot in the 2-year table paying 0.80% AER, while Shawbrook Bank toppled Hodge Bank from the top in the 3-year table by launching its latest offering paying 0.96% AER. It would be great to see the best rates break through the 1% barrier again which we haven’t seen since the beginning of the year.
Fingers crossed for more competition in the weeks to come.
While not much has been happening in the fixed rate cash ISA market recently, what little there has been has been more good news than bad.
Shawbrook Bank has clearly decided it wants to dominate the fixed rate ISA tables, launching a suite of market leading accounts to add to the 5-Year ISA that it has been offering for a while, paying the top rate of 1.10% AER.
The bank has launched a new 1-year cash ISA paying 0.47% AER, breaking the 0.45% stalemate for the first time in over a month and propelling into the top spot.
After losing our market leader from the 2-year fixed rate ISA table - the Tipton & Coseley’s ISA paying 0.60% - Shawbrook’s new ISA paying 0.58% AER briefly took over the leader board. But in a last minute challenge, Aldermore has launched a new 2-year Fixed Rate ISA paying 0.60% AER. Will Shawbrook rise to the challenge?
Similarly, in the 3-year table, Shawbrook can once again be found in 1st position with it’s new cash ISA paying 0.71% AER.
This new ISA from Shawbrook means that the top three 3-year fixed rate ISAs are all now paying 0.70% or above. A marked improvement from the beginning of the month when there was nothing paying more than 0.65% AER.
On a slightly different tack, while Paragon hasn’t upped the rates it is offering, it does feature in the 1-year and 2-year fixed rate ISA tables – and the good news for those who prefer to open savings accounts in a more traditional way, is that the Bank has started to accept postal applications on not only its fixed rate ISAs, but its bond too.
We will of course keep you up to date with the ongoing activity, but in the meantime, keep checking in on the Best Buy tables.
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