Savings Account Market Bursts Into Life

There has been a recent flurry of activity in the savings account market but savers are warned to act fast to take advantage.

According to moneysupermarket.com, average deals on one year fixed rate bonds has increased by 0.11% in 2 months.

But as has been shown recently by action by Skipton Building Society savers need to be quick to take advantage of top savings account products – Skipton launched a one year fixed rate savings bond with a market leading rate of 3.30%, but have since dropped the rates on this product twice in two weeks to 3.05%.

As Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com said “Traditionally this time of year is known as the ‘silly season’ in the banking industry, as providers rush to introduce competitive new products to the market in an effort to attract new customers and plug any deposit shortfalls. These deals do not last long though”.

As well as fixed rate savings accounts which require you to lock your money away for an agreed period of time, there has also been a resurgence in the easy access market, with some good, competitive deals being offered – including Nationwide’s MySave Online easy account paying 2.99%.

Savers need to monitor products available and ensure they are getting the best deal that suits their needs.

MoneyHighStreet.com comment: This activity in the savings market is certainly encouraging. Remember to check the small print on savings account bonus rates though as these often make good headline figures. At the very least ensure you know what happens to the interest rate after the bonus period