Just out of interest........

pqrdef

Froglet wrote: »

Anyone like to take a guess at what will happen by next autumn

Rates will carry on falling until somebody is prepared to sit at the top of the league table. Nobody can do this when all of us rate tarts with our MSE newsletters and comparison sites and flighty money will pile straight in. The instant-access e-saver market is too liquid and needs a dose of inertia to spread the money around.

We may see the straight unrestricted-access market drop to 0.5% or less, so that decent rates are only available on notice accounts and limited-withdrawal accounts. And a new type of account with unlimited withdrawals but only a liimited time window for deposits, so you can't just open the account and sit on it for use later.


Quite possibly the new boss will promise to keep interest rates at rock bottom for years ahead, because apparently that's what he did in Canada. Not good for business confidence, the possibility that borrowing rates might actually go up.

pqrdef

There are also some non-bonus variable-rate accounts out there whose rates may or may not drop at any time. If you've got Virgin/Northern Rock or Barnsley 2.5% or Nationwide 15yr Loyalty, you could find you've got a winning rate this time next year, or maybe not.

artbaron

4.65% for BM 5 year fixed rate taken out earlier this year. Looked again recently and it's only offering 3% now, which is pretty grim.

Around 2.5% on easy access ones I think. The rates are so low now it's not worth swapping for the odd 1/10th percent.

VT82

Just goes to show you need to open every account going.

Fortunately, Derbyshire didn't cut their 3.25% before the bonus finished, but there's nothing to stop other people doing so. Santander must have billions in e-Saver Issue 5 at 3.2%, but there's nothing to stop them cutting the rate early. Any outflow they experience will be more than made up for by people staying at a lower rate they still couldn't get anywhere else, and any money they need to replace would come flooding in even at 2.4%.

So we should have all opened every best buy account going, and should open a couple of accounts paying 2.4% now, because you don't know which if any of them will still be paying it in a year's time. The only problem is that a lot of accounts now want a minimum opening balance of £1,000+, even if the minimum operating balance is £1, which is a real pain (stand up Derbyshire and why I only ever bothered with NetSaver Issue 1).

On the topic in question, I've got most of my money in Monmouthshire at 4% instant access, with three empty 4% Vantage accounts waiting in the wings. But when the Monmouthshire matures in Jan, and some regular savers mature, I will have more than enough to fill up my Vantages, and my ISAs. And then only a few months left of my 3.2% Santander. Time to go S&S ISAs to get rid of another £11k either side of the tax year.

Froglet

artbaron wrote: »

4.65% for BM 5 year fixed rate taken out earlier this year. Looked again recently and it's only offering 3% now, which is pretty grim.

Around 2.5% on easy access ones I think. The rates are so low now it's not worth swapping for the odd 1/10th percent.

Yes i scraped together every last pound i had at the time for that BM one.Really glad i did now.Also have the 5 year Newcastle one that was a good bet cos you could give 6 months notice if rates started going up.Bet there's not many people doing THAT now !

melbury

Desperately trying to find an account for a maturing fixed rate bond to replace the 3.6% gross on that - can't seem to find anything paying 3%+ for a fix of 1-2 years.

innovate

3.25% at Punjab National if you can fix to between 2 and 3 years?
http://www.pnbint.com/fixed-deposits.asp

lexington013

Aldermore 3.35% ends september next year.
Aldermore 3.30% ends april next year

Hunting around for something remotely close.....

badger09

Monmouthshire 4% to 31/1/13 (not strictly instant access, but as good as )

Lloyds Vantage 4% to 31/10/13

AA 3.2% to 28/12/12
Santander 3.2% to 9/6/13

Tesco 2.6% to 12/9/13 - opened only for Lloyds DDs, but looking like a safety net now :eek:

Shark

Alot of cash at 2.8% very depressing