Moneysupermarket.com: Fixed-rate bonds improving

The interest paid on fixed-rate bonds is improving, according to new research by Moneysupermarket.com.

The price comparison site found that the top five fixed-rate bond products pay an average interest rate of 3.89%, despite the Bank of England’s 0.5% base rate.

In the past 12 months, the margin between the base rate and the best bond rates has been this high only once before, in November.

Kevin Mountford, Moneysupermarket.com’s head of banking, said: “Savers haven’t had much to be cheerful about of late, but some green shoots could now be emerging.

“While the leading rates are far from last summer’s giddy heights of seven per cent or more, providers are showing they are keen to draw in deposits to shore up their books.”

Current market leaders for fixed-rate bonds are the Bank of Ireland and ICICI, both paying 4.1% interest.

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