Savvy savers go for consistency
Only three savings accounts out of ten re-achieved the same top rankings this January that they did two years earlier in Investec Private Bank's Savings Index, showing that banks rarely perform consistently.The index, which rates top performing savings accounts for balances of £25,000, found that Britannia's HomeSaver account was the very best for consistency, with its 6.55 gross interest rate.Researchers found that 102 out of the 865 accounts had failed to increase their interest rates despite two 25 point increases in the base rate since October 2006, with one bank even dropping their rate.Linda McBain, head of banking and treasury at Investec, said: "These findings highlight how important it is for savers to check that they are still being paid a competitive rate on their accounts. Savers should look for savings accounts which consistently offer the best rates of interest rather than those with short term incentives."Ms McBain added: "The index also demonstrates that having a larger balance in your savings account is no guarantee of receiving an attractive or fair rate of return and someone receiving an average return of 4.03 per cent on their savings of £25,000 could earn around £405 in extra interest each year if they received the returns offered on one of the most competitive accounts for balances of £1."
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