This week most of the action took place in the fixed rate bond arena – although there were a few interesting changes among variable rate accounts to take note of.
Investec launched improved one and two year bonds, with both options hitting the top of the respective tables.
Atom Bank was also busy, follow a period away from the best buys – coming back in with new one, two, three and five year bonds that all made it into the top five for the respective terms. Three of those four accounts are now at the top of the tables.
Meanwhile, Metro Bank launched a competitive 18 month fixed rate bond – an area of the fixed rate market utilised less often by providers.
Also making changes in the fixed rate bond market was Charter Savings Bank – making its competitive bonds available by post, as well as online, for the first time.
There were also improvements among fixed rate cash ISAs, with Shawbrook Bank launching improved one, two and three year cash ISAs – two of which are market leading.
Virgin Money was the key mover among the variable rate accounts, launching improved versions of its Double Take E-Saver and E-ISA, moving up our easy access and variable rate cash ISA best buy tables as a result.
Finally, if you are looking for something a little different, The Family Building Society launched a three year tracker bond that follows future movements in the Bank of England base rate.
If you’re looking for other options, we have also included the lowdown on sharia fixed term accounts and notice accounts to help you select the most suitable savings account for your circumstances.
For an overview of the whole savings market and to look at the top options in all categories, make sure you consult our independent best buy tables and if you want to keep up to date with best buy rates as they hit the market, sign up to our Rate Alert emails.
Fixed Rate Bonds
There were two key providers battling for supremacy this week in the fixed rate bond best buy tables – Investec and Atom Bank.
Investec improved its one year offering to 2.05% gross/AER, taking joint first place in our table. Even better news was its improved two year fixed term deposit account, paying 2.35% gross/AER – taking a clear lead at the top of our table.
Meanwhile, Atom Bank also improved its one year fixed rate bond offering to 2.05% gross/AER, matching both the aforementioned Investec and the current incumbent, Tandem, at the top of our table.
The provider also improved its two year offering, now paying 2.30% and sitting in joint second place in our table, behind Investec.
Atom Bank took a share of the lead in the three year table as well, its new three year fixed rate bond paying 2.40%, joining Tandem and Investec again at the top of our table.
Finally, Atom Bank launched a new version of its five year fixed rate bond, paying a market-leading rate of 2.70% gross/AER.
For those looking for a different term option, Metro Bank launched an improved version of its 18 month fixed rate bond paying 2.25% gross/AER – sitting more than halfway between the top one year and two year rates currently available.
And last but not least, Charter Savings Bank has changed its competitive one year (2.01% gross/AER), 18 month (2.11% gross/AER) and two year (2.28% gross/AER) fixed rate bonds to allow postal applications, in addition to just online ones, for those who prefer a more traditional application route.
For full information on each of these accounts and for a range of other options, please refer to our full fixed rate bond best buy tables.
Fixed Rate Cash ISAs
Shawbrook Bank stole the limelight this week in this area of the market, launching improved one, two and three year fixed rate cash ISAs.
The new version of its one year fixed rate cash ISA pays a market-leading rate of 1.65% tax free/AER.
Its new two year fixed rate cash ISA pays 1.82% tax free/AER, sharing the spoils with both Paragon and Bank of Cyprus UK*.
Meanwhile, its new three year option pays 1.90% tax free/AER – enough to make it into our top five, but not enough to displace the joint market leaders - both paying 1.95% tax free/AER – Aldermore* and Marsden Building Society.
To view our top five accounts across the full range of terms, please refer to our full fixed rate cash ISA best buy tables.
Easy Access Accounts
Virgin Money has launched a new version of its Double Take E-Saver, paying 1.50% gross/AER, taking the account to joint top of our best buy table.
However, as the name suggests, you are limited to just two withdrawals per year, so may not suit everyone.
Paying the same rate, Kent Reliance has no restriction on the number of withdrawals and no introductory bonus included in the rate, unlike some of the other accounts in our table.
Further information on these accounts and the rest of the current top five can be found in our easy access best buy table.
Variable Rate Cash ISAs
At the same time, Virgin Money also launched an improved version of its Double Take E-ISA, paying 1.45% tax free/AER.
Again, you are restricted to just two withdrawals per year, although it matches the rate on the well-established 95 day notice ISA from Charter Savings Bank.
If you are looking for a cash ISA with easy access to your money, without a restriction on the number of withdrawals you can make in a year, Leeds Building Society offers the top rate at 1.38% tax free/AER.
For further information on these accounts and to see how the rest of the top five stacks up, please refer to our variable rate cash ISA best buy table.
Variable Rate Tracker Bonds
Also new this week was an interesting option from The Family Building Society – a bond that follows movements in the Bank of England base rate.
The 3 Year Tracker Rate Bond (1) currently pays 2.07% gross/AER and is guaranteed to be 1.32% above the base rate for the term, so if the base rate goes up (or down), so will the rate paid on the account.
Sharia Fixed Term Accounts
Sharia accounts are still paying competitive rates and, in some cases, may be worth considering as an alternative to the fixed rates mentioned above.
BLME continues to hold the top spot with its five year Premier Deposit Account, paying 2.70% gross/AER*.
If you’re looking for shorter terms, Al Rayan is paying 2.40% gross/AER for three years and BLME pays 2.05% gross/AER for one year*.
Al Rayan Bank continues to lead the way with its fixed term cash ISAs, paying 1.60% tax free/AER on its one year account and 1.80% tax free/AER for two years.
Please refer to our sharia fixed term accounts best buy table for more information on the accounts above and read our recent article for more on sharia accounts and how they work.
Notice Accounts
Maintaining its lead in our best buy table is Gatehouse Bank.
The provider’s 120 day notice account pays 1.87% gross/AER and its 95 day notice account pays 1.85% gross/AER – occupying the top two spots in our table.
For further information on these accounts and the rest of our top five, please refer to our notice account best buy table.
If you would like any help with your savings, why not give one of our Bath-based experts a call on 0800 011 9705, we’d love to hear from you.
*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 (*).
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