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How to make more of your money

By: Paul Lucas

When the Bank of England base rate was hiked in November 2006, many of the leading savings account providers were slow to pass on the benefit to customers. However, with the market now having settled down, where should you put your cash to make more from your savings?

The market is more competitive than ever and many of the leading providers passed on the full 0.25% to customers. These include the current table-topping savings accounts from:

The ICICI HiSave account - 5.45%AER requiring a £1 minimum investment and guaranteeing to beat the base rate until December 31, 2007.

The Icesave easy access account - 5.45%AER requiring a £250 minimum investment and guaranteeing to beat the base rate until October 01, 2009. However, balances below £250 only receive 0.5%AER.

The Birmingham Midshires Internet easy access account - 5.45%AER requiring a minimum investment of £1. Be wary however, because this features a 0.65% bonus for the first year - after that period this account will not be so competitive.

It would be remiss not to mention the Alliance & Leicester DirectSaver too, which offers THE leading rate of 5.64%AER. However, this does require a minimum investment of £5,000 and you would lose interest on any month you make a withdrawal, which could make the previously mentioned accounts a better option.

Alternatively, if you’re certain about locking your money away consider a bond or term account. The likes of Anglo Irish Bank offer some tempting rates with 5.85%AER for a minimum investment of just £500.

This vast competition has really exposed the providers who haven’t passed on the full rate. ING Direct received a lot of negative Press for not raising rates at all. Abbey also caused a few raised eyebrows by raising the rate on most of its savings accounts by 0.25%, while simultaneously hitting mortgage customers by raising borrowing rates by 0.34%.

Thanks to online price comparison websites such as moneysupermarket.com there’s no reason to be stuck with a bad rate any more. So don’t just sit back and be short-changed by your bank or building society - take a full search of the market and make the most of what you’ve got.

Article Source: http://www.articlewheel.com

To compare savings accounts and to find the leading savings account rates visit moneysupermarket.com

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