It’s not been a particularly exciting couple of weeks although there have been some positive moves among the short term fixed rate bonds.
However, it looks like the ISA season is pretty much over for the current tax year. We’ll just have to hope that the new Tax Year brings some nuggets that can be snapped up.
RATES ARE CORRECT AS AT THE TIME OF PUBLICATION (01/04/2021). All up-to-date rates can be found on our Best Buy tables.
Not much has happened in the Easy Access Best Buy tables over the last couple of weeks. There is still only one account paying 0.50% AER and that barely qualifies as it only allows penalty free withdrawals on one day each year.
There is also only one account paying 0.45% (Monmouthshire Building Society Escalator Instant on £25,000 plus) – so it’s slim pickings I’m afraid.
Charter Savings Bank shook things up a little when it launched a couple of new accounts in the middle of March but the bank has since withdrawn those accounts from sale, so things have slipped back down. That said, Moneycorp bank continues to top the table with its 90 day account paying 0.65% AER.
One thing to remember about the Moneycorp account is that your money is protected by the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme (GDGS), as this is where the bank is based, which covers deposits of up to €100,000
Although we have lost the market leading Raisin/Cambridge & Counties Bank 1 Year bond paying 0.60% AER, Hampshire Trust Bank and ZOPA have jumped back into the tables into the top two spots paying 0.59% AER and 0.58% AER respectively.
Over two years, ZOPA has again reintroduced itself to the Best Buy table, but it’s DF Capital that has shaken things up a bit by launching a new bond paying 0.76% AER, the highest rate on offer in the two-year table, for six weeks.
Unfortunately there has been less action in the long term fixed rate bond tables – Hodge Bank still holds the top spot over five years, paying 1.30% AER. We are still waiting for the increase in long term gilt yields to filter through to the fixed rate bond savings accounts.
Cash ISAs
After a bit of positive action in the Fixed Rate ISA tables last time, I’m afraid I only have bad news this week!
Over one year, Charter Savings Bank withdrew its Fixed Rate ISA offering 0.50%, so now the best rate is paying just 0.45% AER.
Similarly, over two and three years there have been a number of cuts and the best two year has dropped from 0.70% AER to 0.62% after the West Brom Building Society’s domination of the table came to a swift end after just a week.
The three-year cash ISA table in particular has been hit. Two weeks ago, all the top five were all paying 0.70% AER or more – now the best rate is just 0.65% AER.
Even UBL UK has dropped down the rankings, falling from the top spot it has dominated since before the beginning of the year in the five year Fixed Rate ISA table – leaving the best five year fixed rate ISA paying just 1% AER – from Skipton Building Society.
Hopefully this negative activity is simply a result of the providers managing the end of the Tax Year – perhaps they will start the new Tax Year with something a little more positive. We’ll let you know.
Finally, there is really nothing to mention in the Variable Rate Cash ISA table. Even Al Rayan Bank has dropped down the ranks with the current issue of its Instant Access ISA (Issue 3) paying just 0.35% AER. Those who managed to open Issue 2 are still enjoying the higher rate of 0.60% AER however.
Yorkshire Building Society took advantage of the situation by launching a new Annual Access ISA (Issue 4) which is paying 0.45% AER and therefore nosing ahead of the rest of the competition paying 0.40% AER. However, as with its non ISA easy access offering, penalty free access is only allowed on one day each year, so you need to be sure you won’t be looking to make regular withdrawals from the account.
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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