Savers with a soft spot in their hearts for fixed rate bonds recently rejoiced as several new savings accounts were unveiled in the UK.
Bank of Ireland subsidiary, the Post Office, announced a new one-year online banking option that pays a 3.41 per cent annual interest rate or a 3.36 per cent monthly interest rate. Savers can take out the new offering from the personal and business bank account provider with as little as a £500 deposit, though no additional deposits can be made once the bond begins its one-year term.
Another financial services provider, Newbury Building Society, has unveiled its new one-year fix with a 3.2 per cent rate of return, available either through the post or through one of the building society’s branches. There are more limitations than the Post Office fix, as there is no monthly interest option and the minimum investment to open the bond is set at £10,000.
Another building society has offered a new five-year fix, as well. While the Leeds Building Society saver has an attractive five per cent rate, the sizable return is only for those savers who have £1,000 or less in the account (though joint accounts can have as much as £2,000) Savers are permitted to withdraw up to one quarter of their funds, as long as a minimum of £100 remains in their account.
Meanwhile for those savers who wish to gamble on interest rates rising soon, Ipswich BS has issued a guaranteed tracker bond. Guaranteed to be 2.25 percentage points above the base rate set by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, the Ipswich bond is currently set at 2.75 per cent. An additional factor in the bond’s favour is that it will be adjusted to at least 3.25 per cent from February of 2012, Ipswich officials state.