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The Top Regular Savers Discussion Thread

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  • Bob2000
    Bob2000 Posts: 299 Forumite
    100 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Bob2000 said:
    IanManc said:
    schiff said:
    Some talk in the Manchester Evening News (can't quote it unfortunately as I 'lost' the email link) that the Manchester BS which was merged with the Newcastle BS in 2023 is being revived - HO in the upmarket King St and branches in the city. More news may be forthcoming and they could start by offering something worthwhile.
    Very early days of course.
    Just found more: planning permission obtained for the HO building, opening hopefully later this year.
    Was hardly worth posting, was it LOL
    The article is here:

    https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-building-society-back-new-30790368
    One revives, another might close.

    "Santander considers UK exit amid frustrations with high street banking"

    https://archive.is/20250118212845/https://www.ft.com/content/52f65106-6def-4855-b7a0-ae2b7f3200f6

    May be time to open their reg saver speculatively now.
    What advantage would you gain my opening their RS if they do pull out of the British market?
    I'm still learning stuff on here so pardon if it's a silly question. 
    That such a step doesn't happen over night but if this is a serious plan it will mean a lot of restructure beforehand and that could mean that they restructure their portfolio, which in turn could mean accounts are withdrawn but remain perfectly fine and operable by those who have it open. 
    Ah, ok, thank you for the explanation. 

  • Emily_Joy
    Emily_Joy Posts: 1,491 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    masonic said:
    That such a step doesn't happen over night but if this is a serious plan it will mean a lot of restructure beforehand and that could mean that they restructure their portfolio, which in turn could mean accounts are withdrawn but remain perfectly fine and operable by those who have it open. 
    Or if you are very lucky they'll return your money early and pay out full interest as if you'd carried on to term.

    As far as I can see the rate is not very competitive at the moment. Perhaps I am missing something?
  • masonic
    masonic Posts: 27,169 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Emily_Joy said:
    masonic said:
    That such a step doesn't happen over night but if this is a serious plan it will mean a lot of restructure beforehand and that could mean that they restructure their portfolio, which in turn could mean accounts are withdrawn but remain perfectly fine and operable by those who have it open. 
    Or if you are very lucky they'll return your money early and pay out full interest as if you'd carried on to term.
    As far as I can see the rate is not very competitive at the moment. Perhaps I am missing something?
    It might look a little more inviting after the next MPC meeting, but it's below my threshold. If you are an existing customer, it would be minimal effort to add to the collection.
  • surreysaver
    surreysaver Posts: 4,796 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Emily_Joy said:
    masonic said:
    That such a step doesn't happen over night but if this is a serious plan it will mean a lot of restructure beforehand and that could mean that they restructure their portfolio, which in turn could mean accounts are withdrawn but remain perfectly fine and operable by those who have it open. 
    Or if you are very lucky they'll return your money early and pay out full interest as if you'd carried on to term.

    As far as I can see the rate is not very competitive at the moment. Perhaps I am missing something?
    Rates which are uncompetitive at the moment may seem competitive in a few months time, particularly if it is a fixed rate.
    I'm not sure you can open easy access accounts at 5% now (although I have a couple open), so if people have got spare cash lying around they may put money in Regular Savers paying 5%. Or you could open it speculatively with the minimum required in case it is competitive later on 
    I consider myself to be a male feminist. Is that allowed?
  • subjecttocontract
    subjecttocontract Posts: 2,707 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 19 January at 8:37PM
    Santander regular saver is a fixed interest rate in what some consider to be a falling market. So,  by this time next year 5% may look very attractive.
  • Emily_Joy
    Emily_Joy Posts: 1,491 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Emily_Joy said:
    masonic said:
    That such a step doesn't happen over night but if this is a serious plan it will mean a lot of restructure beforehand and that could mean that they restructure their portfolio, which in turn could mean accounts are withdrawn but remain perfectly fine and operable by those who have it open. 
    Or if you are very lucky they'll return your money early and pay out full interest as if you'd carried on to term.

    As far as I can see the rate is not very competitive at the moment. Perhaps I am missing something?
    Rates which are uncompetitive at the moment may seem competitive in a few months time, particularly if it is a fixed rate.
    I'm not sure you can open easy access accounts at 5% now (although I have a couple open), so if people have got spare cash lying around they may put money in Regular Savers paying 5%. Or you could open it speculatively with the minimum required in case it is competitive later on 
    I understand your point, but with a mortgage at 4.4% and being well over PSA for the next year already it would be better, in my circumstances, to overpay the mortgage.

  • surreysaver
    surreysaver Posts: 4,796 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Emily_Joy said:
    Emily_Joy said:
    masonic said:
    That such a step doesn't happen over night but if this is a serious plan it will mean a lot of restructure beforehand and that could mean that they restructure their portfolio, which in turn could mean accounts are withdrawn but remain perfectly fine and operable by those who have it open. 
    Or if you are very lucky they'll return your money early and pay out full interest as if you'd carried on to term.

    As far as I can see the rate is not very competitive at the moment. Perhaps I am missing something?
    Rates which are uncompetitive at the moment may seem competitive in a few months time, particularly if it is a fixed rate.
    I'm not sure you can open easy access accounts at 5% now (although I have a couple open), so if people have got spare cash lying around they may put money in Regular Savers paying 5%. Or you could open it speculatively with the minimum required in case it is competitive later on 
    I understand your point, but with a mortgage at 4.4% and being well over PSA for the next year already it would be better, in my circumstances, to overpay the mortgage.

    Maybe in your case, but my mortgage already has savings balancing the outstanding balance, so I'm effectively not paying interest on it. Not everyone has a mortgage. My ISA is also maxed out this year, with plans to max out next years. So 5% is attractive to me.
    If other things are attractive to you, then do that with your money 
    I consider myself to be a male feminist. Is that allowed?
  • Slinky
    Slinky Posts: 11,003 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Slinky said:
    silvercar said:
    Coventry loyalty seasonal saver, 6%, max £250 per month, 12 month term, 30 days loss of interest on amount withdrawn before 31/10/25 , then free access. 
    Seems I can now pick this one up, presumably because I’ve been a member now long enough to meet the criteria. 

    If I opened and funded on 31st Jan could I then fund again on 1st Feb? Anyone know? 
    Coventry and First Direct are the only 2 that don’t allow this.
    The day it’s opened is the day you make the next payment.
    Opened on the 18th of January, next payment on the 18th of February.

    Zopa RS doesn't either.

    Regarding Zopa, it is worth signing up for the waiting list. I was only on it for about a month-6 weeks before getting the invite for the CA

    Looking back on this, my memory has gone totally awol.  I've now found I had an email that I was on the wait list on 25th November, and got an email from them on 3rd December saying I had reached the top of the wait list.  Whether the amount of money you have with them has anything to do with it I don't know, but I'd invested my full ISA limit with them.
    Make £2025 in 2025
    Prolific £229.82, Octopoints £4.27, Topcashback £290.85, Tesco Clubcard challenges £60, Misc Sales £321, Airtime £10.
    Total £915.94/£2025 45.2%

    Make £2024 in 2024
    Prolific £907.37, Chase Intt £59.97, Chase roundup int £3.55, Chase CB £122.88, Roadkill £1.30, Octopus referral reward £50, Octopoints £70.46, Topcashback £112.03, Shopmium referral £3, Iceland bonus £4, Ipsos survey £20, Misc Sales £55.44
    Total £1410/£2024  70%

    Make £2023 in 2023  Total: £2606.33/£2023  128.8%



  • ToastLady
    ToastLady Posts: 460 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Slinky said:
    Slinky said:
    silvercar said:
    Coventry loyalty seasonal saver, 6%, max £250 per month, 12 month term, 30 days loss of interest on amount withdrawn before 31/10/25 , then free access. 
    Seems I can now pick this one up, presumably because I’ve been a member now long enough to meet the criteria. 

    If I opened and funded on 31st Jan could I then fund again on 1st Feb? Anyone know? 
    Coventry and First Direct are the only 2 that don’t allow this.
    The day it’s opened is the day you make the next payment.
    Opened on the 18th of January, next payment on the 18th of February.

    Zopa RS doesn't either.

    Regarding Zopa, it is worth signing up for the waiting list. I was only on it for about a month-6 weeks before getting the invite for the CA

    Looking back on this, my memory has gone totally awol.  I've now found I had an email that I was on the wait list on 25th November, and got an email from them on 3rd December saying I had reached the top of the wait list.  Whether the amount of money you have with them has anything to do with it I don't know, but I'd invested my full ISA limit with them.
    I don't know what their criteria is, but I've only put £5K into flexible ISA and only pence in smart saver pot. I was quite honest when applying for current account that I wanted it for access to savings, which could only mean RS as I already have access to their savings accounts. 
  • someone
    someone Posts: 837 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Re Santander thinking about exiting the UK market

    Any exit is going to involve some sort of sale of the UK business. Virgin fattened up the customer books for a few years prior to their sale to Nationwide. They have or had 10% regular savers, high interest current accounts, good fixed term and instant access ISAs, along with good switching offers. 

    What will happen with Santander is anyone’s guess. In a way they have already said “we can’t make the profits we want” so it’s not too attractive for buyers. The only exception would be if they had some different business model. Maybe it would be attractive to one of these newer banks, allowing them to buy up a few million customers. But their business model seems to be streamlined and limited product offering, not really what Santander offers.
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