Secure Trust Bank

robertaaldridge

Does anyone know why the 120 day notice account paying 3.25% is not listed under Martin's 'best buy' notice accounts. Is there a catch?

Reaper

The only catch is you have to give a whopping 4 months notice to withdraw your money. That's a long time if the interest rate they pay drops.

Old_Wrinkly

Agreed.
But that doesn't really answer robertaaldridge's question.

The MSE best savings article has a number of sections for various different types of accounts - one of which is 'Notice' accounts.
The contents of that section are currently :

Top 'notice-needed' account (min £1,000): 3% AER
Whiteaway Laidlaw Bank, give 60 days notice for withdrawals, only 4 w/d's allowed.
You can boost the rate to 3% AER, with Whiteaway Laidlaw Bank's 60 Day Notice Direct Account. As the name suggests the account requires 60 days' notice if you want to access your money and you are only allowed four withdrawals per year.

Due to the generally depressed savings rates on offer, 'notice-needed' accounts - which we normally exclude - have popped up on the radar as a decent way to tweak rates upwards. However, you must be willing to forgo easy access to your cash - if you need the money quick then you'll have to pay a big interest penalty, far outweighing the rate gain.
You must save at least £1,000 in it, and you can access it by post or in branches. The bank has the usual £50,000 FSCS protection, see the Safe Savings guide for more.
Quick Stats: Rate: 3% variable AER. Min. Deposit: £1,000.Max Deposit: £100,000 Access: Post/Branch Withdrawal restrictions: 60 days notice needed

Note: it is not a section for 60-day notice accounts - it should cover all periods up to a year.

The essentials of the Secure Trust '120 Day Notice Variable Interest Account (Issue 1)' are :
AER : currently 3.25%
Withdrawals subject to 120 days notice.
Maximum 3 withdrawals per annum without penalty.
Minimum initial deposit £1,000.
Minimum subsequent deposits £1,000.
Maximum balance £1,000,000.
Interest credited 31st March, 30th June, 30th September and 31st December.
'Withdrawals can be made each year from any notice account without penalty provided the required notice period is given. In exceptional cases where the bank, at its discretion, agree that a withdrawal can be made without notice, a penalty fee may apply.'

There is also a '90 Day Notice Variable Interest Account' with similar conditions (though 'Minimum subsequent deposits' is only £500 and 4 withdrawals p.a. allowed, since the notice period is less).
The AER for this account is currently 3.03% - again higher than MSE's 'best'.

On the face of it, I cannot see why both of these accounts should not figure ahead of the Whiteaway Laidlaw one, since MSE usually say that they show the highest interest rate account (unless there is some reason for safety concerns).

withnell

Reaper wrote: »

The only catch is you have to give a whopping 4 months notice to withdraw your money. That's a long time if the interest rate they pay drops.

If they drop it more than the base rate movement you get instant access, its a banking code thing (happened to me for a first save 90 day account)

Reaper

withnell wrote: »

If they drop it more than the base rate movement you get instant access, its a banking code thing (happened to me for a first save 90 day account)

That would certainly make sense but I have been searching in vain for a reference to that rule.

The Banking Code is no more, it has been taken over by the FSA's Banking Conduct of Business Sourcebook, though finding what the rules are is harder than I expected. Anyone know where to look?