Nationwide E-Savings

Limes

So, Nationwide has decreased rates on all of its savings accounts I read today in the Mail, full page advert page 58, including the introduction of rate tiers on its E-Savings account.

I have a question that the wider knowledge base of MSE no doubt has an answer for.

Why would Nationwide or any other institution make a move from one rate to a tiered one? What benefits are there to the organisation, and are there any for us savers - other than aiming to get past the tiers that offer lower rates?

Joe_Bloggs

The Nationwide have kicked their e-savers in the teeth. We will remember this the next time the board ask for our votes. I have decided to accelerate my Nationwide mortgage overpayments and ISA contribution schedules from e-saver funds.
J_B.

spammeplease

Thanks for alerting me to this. I know it is only effective today, but there was no message on their internet banking site when I was in there today, despite my having an e-saver account.

I've always found Nationwide's Internet banking to be very good, and frequently improved, but the organisation itself seems to behave in a similar way to a big bad bank. Reducing credit card interest-free periods and trying to restrict access to your funds as much as possible, for example. Personally, I find this disappointing as a confirmed believer in mutuals.

cadboll

I have been saving for house - so putting deposit in Nationwide e-savings account - I have about 7k there at the moment. Due to their change in rates, I will only be getting 4.55% Gross/AER - a drop of 0.20%!

It is likely that my house will be ready in April/May - is it worth changing accounts? Nationwide originally calculated interest (based on 4.75%) on a annual basis. If I shift the money now will I lose out? Thanks.

Mr_Mumble

:eek:

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/savings/rates.htm

:mad:

codetown

I too have been a proud member of Nationwide and very openly recommending them for the excellent service they offer.

But the choices made in the last 2-3 years are very debatable. The board (which gets huge amount of money as salary, always increasing and all in 6-7 figures) has progressively 'reserved' more and more money, masking what should be accounted as profits (and cannot for its mutual status).
All those millions should have been passed to its members.

It is something that the poor old Alan Debenham (people's candidate to the board) has been trying to fight for years, loosing all the time the elections because of no sustain at all from the current management. I think that the attitude of all those economists will not change unless of real member who fought for years can be there in their meetings.

I also have to admit that in the last 3 years I cannot remember a single product which was on the top spot (best product) for 3-4 months. Most of them are good, but not a single one top-offer. This is a strategy I do not understand at all!
e-savings was a very good and attractive package for the last month, becoming competitive with all others dropping rates. But now also that one has gone down and makes you think to go somewherelse!

theJudge

It's a pity that banks aren't legally obliged to email all of their customers when the rates change. That said, all of the banks have reduced their interest rates lately. My other bank is ING Direct and they reduced from 4.75% to 4.5% at the start of the year. Fingers crossed, this means that the mortgage rate is going down soon.

pin

Nationwide "Proud to be Different" - apart from the Board, which is acting more and more like the Board of a plc.

Milarky

theJudge wrote:

It's a pity that banks aren't legally obliged to email all of their customers when the rates change. That said, all of the banks have reduced their interest rates lately. My other bank is ING Direct and they reduced from 4.75% to 4.5% at the start of the year. Fingers crossed, this means that the mortgage rate is going down soon.

They are, I believe, but only within 30 days of the change - not in advance of it. This gives the edge to the banks (etc) to make these rates change a fait accompli

Just looking down at ISAs for instance, you need £10000+ to get the 'best rates' now but anybody knows that you can't add more than £3000 per year to an ISA - A matured Tessa in April 2004 (that's the last date they paid out) meanwhile could only have started with £9,000 transferred capital. Natiowide would have raised this to £9,450 by April 2005 with interest added but until annual interest is added to this in March 2006 it won't increase at all (TOISAs are 'closed issue' accounts). By my calculation, they would add £470 interest - bringing the balance to £,9920 -thus £80 short of the required threshold. With newly suscribed ISAs someone starting today couldn't get that rate for 3 at least years... This is deliberate sharp practice (of sorts). Yes, they are a commercial organistion still, but they have beyond a rate-realignment - they have re-arranged the whole deck and made their 'proposition' needlessly complex.

ManAtHome

Oh dear, we were only discussing this in another thread. I had no issues with their service, but moved cash out several years ago when they were paying reasonable rates but then dropped much faster than B0E rates. I have been moving cash back in as they seemed to be moving back up the tables - looks like they're back to the "sucker them in" business methods from 10 years ago - looks like I'm back to the "thanks but no thanks" from 8 years ago...

shark_2

Well that is just about the quickest reduction in savings rates i have ever seen from Nationwide, with a media release on 18Jan followed by rate cuts one day later on 19Jan. They are acting like a plc in immediately reacting to their competitors' positions. I am a member and have noted that their usual rate changes are on or around the 1st of the month, so this scramble of activity appears to be somewhat out of their ordinary routine, but of course they have to re-cover costs and maintain their margins from somewhere for the 'winter clearance loan sale' that is splashed in red all across their front webpage! But don't be surprised if this move is also in anticipation of a BoE base rate cut next month.

Nationwide "Proud to be different"

:rolleyes: