The holiday season has seen a little relief from the terrible rate cuts that have persisted through 2020. Although a few cuts were still made, there were also some providers that introduced new, better rates. A little something to cheer about perhaps?
RATES ARE CORRECT AS AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION (08/01/2021). All up-to-date rates can be found on our Best Buy tables.
It’s been quiet again over the last few weeks, so hopefully things have bottomed out – we can but hope. We did lose the top-paying account that had been offered by Aldermore. The market-leading Double Access Account Issue 1 paying 0.60% AER was withdrawn just before Christmas and replaced in our table by its unrestricted easy access account paying 0.50% AER. This account remains in joint second place, beaten by the Investec Online Flexi Saver, paying 0.55%.
Days after our last Newsletter and Rates Rundown, Tandem and The Access Bank both withdrew from the one year table – leaving all five entries paying just 0.60% AER – only marginally higher than the best easy access account available.
Over two years, Arbuthnot Direct made a brief appearance in the top spot paying 0.95% AER but this was withdrawn after just a week – leaving the top accounts all paying 0.80%. This had been the status quo until Friday morning (08/01/2021), when Secure Trust Bank pipped the rest of the market by launching a bond paying 0.81% AER.
It’s a similar situation over three years – Secure Trust Bank has again stolen the top spot by the smallest of margins, with a bond paying 1.01% - the highest rate seen over this term for four weeks – and beating its peers by just 0.01%.
Over five years although the top rate hasn’t increased, United Trust Bank decided to join the leaders by launching a new bond paying 1.25% AER.
As well as the best 2-year bond that we featured in our last Rates Rundown, Ahli United Bank (UK) PLC, exclusively available via Raisin UK platform, has also launched a 1 year bond paying 1% Expected Profit Rate * – so significantly more than the best non Sharia Fixed Rate Bond.
Al Rayan Bank is offering the top 1 year and 2 year Fixed Term ISAs – paying 0.65% AER and 0.75% AER respectively – as well as offering the best Easy Access Cash ISA paying 0.60% AER
There has been very little going on in the variable rate cash ISA table once more – although The Scottish Building Society has withdrawn its joint market-leading Loyalty Cash ISA. As mentioned above, this leaves the Al Rayan Instant Access Cash ISA (Issue 2) in the top spot, paying a 0.60% Expected Profit Rate.
The best non-Sharia easy access cash ISA is the Charter Savings Bank Easy Access Cash ISA – Issue 19, paying 0.56% AER – also a higher rate than the best non-ISA easy access account.
The Fixed Rate ISA market has remained very quiet again, with no significant reductions. The good news is that, once again, Secure Trust Bank has created some small waves by launching market-leading 2 and 3 year ISAs paying 0.75% AER and 0.80% AER respectively.
*We are occasionally paid by some providers if you click through from our Best Buy Tables and open a savings or current account with them. We will never accept a payment that compromises in any way our independent, whole of market approach to providing information on savings products. For clarity we will indicate those companies who remunerate us with an asterisk (*).
@savingschampion
Find us on Facebook