Smile, big rate cuts!

nilrem_2

If you have or are considering a Smile account they have just massacred their rates!

- savings account - reduced to 2.25% gross / AER if you have a smile current account; reduced to 1.40% gross / AER if you don't have a smile current account

- cash ISA - reduced to 2.75% gross / AER if you have a smile current account; reduced to 2.00% gross / AER if you don't have a smile current account

- standard current account - reduced to 0.28% AER

- student current account - reduced to 0.28% AER

- smilemore current account - reduced to 0.28% AER

I will now be looking for a new home for my ISA's !:eek:

Secret_Lady

nilrem wrote: »

If you have or are considering a Smile account they have just massacred their rates!



I will now be looking for a new home for my ISA's !:eek:

me too.......

LucyTheDwarf

Ouch! That is rather pitiful...

1jim

smile is not what they used to be when you look at their rates, they have been slowly dwindling over the years, I have a current account with them and have been holding on because of the ethical stance they have...but to be honest 0.28% is poor and am now looking around for a higher paying current account...will be sorry to part company with smile but they are not doing much to keep customers

richardlionheart

smile should be renamed to grimace !

Lakeuk

Fell of my seat when I read my e-mail

fullstop

The first year that IAS's were introduced Smile had one of the best interest rates going, soon went downhill. transfered mine earlier this year . Also have an ISA with NS&I 3.3% which was another provider who used to top the best buy tables, not any more have started the ball rolling to move that as well.

realaledrinker

Only reduced their mortgage SVR by 1.25% as well!

To be fair, they are one of the first to move rates on savings after the 1.5% rate cut. I would expect to see many others doing the same by the end of November.

nilrem_2

1jim wrote: »

smile is not what they used to be when you look at their rates, they have been slowly dwindling over the years, I have a current account with them and have been holding on because of the ethical stance they have...but to be honest 0.28% is poor and am now looking around for a higher paying current account...will be sorry to part company with smile but they are not doing much to keep customers

I agree entirely and have exactly the same view on this as yourself, when I started with them a few years back they paid really decent rates even on the current account, we have to understand that this is an online account only and cannot be compared to a normal current account with branches, at 0.28% interest there is now no incentive in having this account over a normal high st current account IMHO.

I almost switched my ISA account to NR fixed at 6% about 3 weeks ago but decided to stick at 4.25% with Smile, the 6% NR account is dead now but I may switch to their Fixed 5% instead.

nilrem_2

realaledrinker wrote: »

Only reduced their mortgage SVR by 1.25% as well!

To be fair, they are one of the first to move rates on savings after the 1.5% rate cut. I would expect to see many others doing the same by the end of November.

I agree but Smile have consistently been paying really poor rates over the last few years!

Stuart_W

I too am with smile. But I'm not off.
Saving rates have dropped by 1.5% across the board but recent events have made me sure more than ever to stick with The Co-Operative Bank.
nilrem is right that they have not appeared in the top-paying tables for quite a few years now.
The Co-operative Bank is one of the safest financial institutions in the country. Whilst new safeguards on retail deposits from the government ensure that there isn't any risk investing in accounts from other banks and building societies, I think now banking with the Co-Op means something more than ever before. Their mutual ownership means there can be no run on their share price, they have an extremely strong balance sheet, with all lending funded entirely by deposits, they have needed no government help, and our biggest institutions are now dependent on help from either borrowed money the government haven't got, or bankrolled by an Arab royal family!
The Co-operative Bank was only ever forced into existence in the 19th century because the early co-operators were considered to be "dangerous revolutionaries" by the banking establishment of the day. Well in our financial climate today, I quite like the idea of being a dangerous revolutionary.
I'm past chasing the best rates. In todays times where it seems necessary to do get dubious funding from all over the place, sticking with strict ethics might mean not offering the best rates, but then offering the best rates didn't get Iceland very far.