The race to top the best buy tables has recently heated up with several new banks and building societies offering new fixed-rate bonds to its customers in a bid for more market share.
The Yorkshire Building Society, through their subsidiary the Chelsea, has announced an attractive new deal; on a minimum balance of £100, the bond will offer pre-tax returns of 3.65 per cent.
Only available as an internet savings account, the bond’s term will remain fixed for two years, becoming available only after 20 September of 2012. There will be strict limitations placed upon it, as well.
The bond also offers an option of monthly interest payments at 3.59 per cent, which is currently topped by another recent interest rate from Cobentry BS and ICICI Bank, which currently offers a return of 3.7 per cent, monthly. ICICI is also offering a bond with a term of one year with a 3.1 per cent rate, which just barely edges out the 3 per cent offered by both Northern Rock, and and Barnsley, another Yorkshire-owned property.
Newcomer Bank of Baroda, in an effort to gain market share, has been actively trying to undercut its competition in the five, three, and one year fixed-rate bond markets.
Three year rates are generally more attractive, such as ICICI offering 4.15 per cent, or a nearly comparable rate of 4.1 per cent at the Nationwide-owned building societies Dunfermline, Cheshire, and Derbyshire. AA Savings also matches Nationwide’s 3 year rates.
In four year fixed bonds, Barnsley’s internet-only offering pays 4.25 per cent, and is the current industry leader.
If fixed rate ISAs are more your cup of tea, Northern Rock offers a one-year rate of 3 per cent, tax free, until the end of its term where it transitions into a notice account with a term of 30 days. Santander offers a two-year ISA rate of 3.5 per cent, provided your minimum balance exceeds £10,000, and Nationwide’s three year offering tops out at 3.75 per cent.