Coventry BS bids for the Co-op Bank

Middle_of_the_Road

Coventry have had no competitive savings accounts in quite a while. I can't see the upside of Co-op customers now becoming members of this society. If anything, there's the possibility that the very good Co-op 7% regular saver could now be in jeopardy.

Maegi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82116146#Comment_82116146

Whilst I agree there should be transitory protection against carpetbaggers - ultimately, the members own the society and the setup that Coventry/ Yorkshire have is much more democratic whereby after five years, members get access to full membership benefits unlike other Building Societies (such as Nationwide) who leave older members with full membership but younger members get inferior membership.

I say that as someone who has full (pre-charitable assignment) status for Nationwide.

Maegi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82117762#Comment_82117762

Lots of people have very rosy-tinted glasses in terms of Building Societies.

For example, when I went to both initially mortgage and re-mortgage my current property - no Building Society was in my top five and I'm not a high LTV/specialised type.

StewedApple

Lots of people have very rosy-tinted glasses in terms of Building Societies.

A whole-of-market approach is always best - particularly if you have a poor credit history for whatever reason. You should look at some of the online comparison sites, and ensure you do a full comparison of the total costs over the life of the loan rather than just the headline rate. If using a broker be aware of their fees and commissions. You may find, as you say, that another lender is cheaper in your circumstances.

subjecttocontract

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82118031#Comment_82118031

I agree, I don't ever recall Coventry BS having anything that could be described as market leading or even at the top of the list. I see little to no advantage for CoOp account holders who currently have a number of attractive offers to make them worthwhile.......£300 swich, 7% reg saver and a £12 packaged account.

Middle_of_the_Road

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82119829#Comment_82119829

They have had some decent regular savers, including two First home savers that previously had good interest rates.

subjecttocontract

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82119877#Comment_82119877

I had the First Home Saver, it wasnt that decent, it was paying 4.6% & a Loyalty Saver paying 5.25% & a Sunny Day Saver paying 4.3%. Nearly every other reg saver that I held was paying more. None of their products were near the top of the list of best payers. They have only been mid field, mediocre, very average payers. So CoOp bank customers seem to have very little to look forward to........or am I missing something ?

Middle_of_the_Road

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82120287#Comment_82120287

I held a few of their regular savers since 2023 including:-

March 2024 (The Peak): They launched the Loyalty Regular Saver (2) paying a top rate of 6.75% AER.

The first home saver1 paid 5.6%

Rates did fall and became uncompetitive as the BofE reduced the base rate.