Pensioners have been the hardest hit by the interest rate on savings accounts entering ‘freefall’, Moneyfacts.co.uk said this week. The price comparison site said an average interest rate of just 0.64% on no notice savings accounts has left pensioners – many of whom rely on savings for a regular income – out of pocket. Darren [...]
There has been welcome news for savers in the budget today as savers over the age of 50 will be given the opportunity to increase their tax free savings in their Isas, as the limit is to increase from £7,200 to £10,200. For those over 50, the change will happen from 6 October and for [...]
Saga has reduced the APR on its Platinum credit card to 11.9% for both new and existing customers. The over-50s financial provider reduced its rate from 15.9% at a time when many other credit card providers are increasing APR. New customers taking out the Platinum card also benefit from 0% on balance transfers and purchases [...]
Over half of UK savers have no idea what interest rate their savings account is paying, according to new research by uSwitch.com. The price comparison site found that 22 million savers are clueless as to how much their interest has been reduced since the Bank of England’s base rate started falling six months ago. Meanwhile, [...]
Nationwide has announced that it has cut the interest rate on its personal loans to 8.2% APR typical. Nationwide said this rate is the most competitive available from a high street provider. The rate is available to Nationwide customers with a FlexAccount debit card or mortgage taking out a loan of between £7,500 and £14,999. [...]
Lloyds TSB has announced an interest rate increase on its fixed-rate Cash ISA of up to 1%. Bucking the trend of decreasing interest rates, the bank announced that customers saving £30,000 or more will benefit from an interest rate of 3.20%, fixed for at least 12 months. Accounts holding between £9,000 and £30,000 will be [...]
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 [...]
Nearly a quarter of Brits have no money set aside in a savings account, according to research by Nationwide building society. The study in savings trends found that 23% of respondents had nothing in a savings account, whilst the number of people who consider saving important has dropped 25% compared to a year ago. Repeated [...]
Abbey has launched a new range of ISAs paying interest at up to 5.5%. The Santander-owned bank has unveiled three new individual savings accounts (ISAs) – the Reward ISA, the Direct ISA, and the Super Direct ISA. New savers can place up to £3,600 in the Reward ISA, which pays interest at 1.5% plus a [...]
With the Bank of England’s base rate (BBR) at an all-time low, Sainsbury’s Bank has announced that new customers opening an Internet Saver account will be paid a guaranteed 2% above the BBR. BBR currently stands at 1%, so the account pays interest at 3% Gross AER. The guaranteed rate is offered on balances between [...]
Skipton Building Society has increased the interest paid on its online savings accounts. Customers with an Online Access Account or an Online Individual Savings Account (ISA) at Skipton have had rates increased by 0.25%. The Online Access Account rate has increased to 2.75%, whilst the Online ISA rate has increased to 2.25%. Tim Fletcher, general [...]
Abbey today launched two new no-fee fixed-rate mortgages. Both the Remortgage Solution and the Homebuyer Solution are three year no-fee mortgages at 4.59% with up to 75% loan to value (LTV). Free valuation and free legal fees are included in both packages. The lender has also reduced rates in its two and three year 60% [...]
Nationwide has announced further cuts to interest rates on its savings accounts. The building society said rates will be reduced by an average of 0.37%, with some accounts seeing cuts as large as 0.5%. Forty percent of accounts will see no reduction in rates, the company assured savers, whilst one account will see rates increase. [...]
Leeds Building Society yesterday released a new individual savings account (ISA) paying interest at up to 2.75% above the current base rate. The 5-Year Escalator ISA pays an average of 3.25% over its five year term. Interest in the first year is paid at 2.75%, increasing to 3%, 3.25%, 3.5%, and 3.75% in subsequent years. [...]
National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has cut interest rates on its variable-rate savings accounts by up to 0.75%. Its Direct ISA now pays 1.8%, whilst its easy access savings account pays just 0.3% on balances up to £10,000. The move follows last month’s cuts of up to 1% on NS&I’s variable accounts. Interest on NS&I’s [...]
Saffron Building Society has launched a cash ISA paying interest at 7% AER for 12 months. Saffron’s new deal is only available via post or in-branch, and requires a £25 up front deposit to open the account. To qualify for the 7% interest rate, savers must deposit between £25 and £300 per month into the [...]
One in five savers now keep their money in a current account because they are unable to find a better rate of interest elsewhere, new research has revealed. Twenty one percent of those polled in the Post Office survey said a current account is now their best option, compared to 32% saving in a cash [...]
Leeds Building Society has announced new guaranteed returns on its fixed-rate bonds, making them even more attractive for savers. The building society is offering returns of up to 3.5% gross p.a./AER on its one, two and three year fixed-rate bonds. In addition, the bonds allow ‘no penalty’ instant access to 25% of the balance at [...]
Over one third of ISA holders are planning to ditch the account because of low interest rates and the need to use their savings to see them through the recession. A uSwitch.com poll found that 38% of the UK’s 11.5 million ISA holders are planning to withdraw from their ISA. With the average ISA account [...]
NatWest has launched two new ISAs paying interest at up to 3.51%. Its online e-ISA, which accepts balance transfers from ISA savings in previous tax years, pays an AER of 3.25% on balances up to £9,999, and 3.51% on balances over £10,000. The bank asserts that this top rate makes it the most competitive online-only [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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