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By Donna Jennings
Staff Writer
Tuesday, 17 June 2008 |
12% Interest from Halifax
After 12 months, your savings will be transferred to one of the following high interest Halifax accounts.
- Halifax Web Saver with cash card 5.50%
- Guaranteed Saver 5.25% rising to 6.25% if balance remains at £2500 and no more than 4 withdrawals are made with the year.
- Saver Reward and Instant Saver 2.07%
- Instant Saver 2.17%
- Halifax Guaranteed saver 5.25%
- Bank of Scotland Instant Access Savings Account 5.00%
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IF you can lock away your savings for a year, you may want to take out a Halifax savings account which guarantees a 12% interest rate as long as you follow the guidelines.
It’s called the ‘10% Regular Saver’ and is only being offered for six weeks, ending on July 20th.
You can pay anything from £25 up to £500 per month into the account, which will will guarantee you 10% gross, fixed interest for one year.
The remaining 2% is available when you open up, and maintain, another Halifax account with a deposit of at least £5000.
Do I already need an account with Halifax?
No, the account is also available to new customers. You can apply online or at your local branch.
There is a limit of one account per adult and payments must be made via standing order from your bank account.
How much am I likely to receive at the end of 12 months?
It depends how much you contribute as interest is earned on a monthly basis.
Therefore, if you managed to save £5,000 over a year, you will only receive 10% on this amount after 12 months.
This will earn you interest of £325.
In effect, the bank only pays interest on the amount of cash that you have in your account each month.
What if I can only afford the minimum payment per month?
You will have saved £300 which will earn you £16.25 interest at a rate of 10% over the year.
Where does the 12% interest kick in?
To obtain the extra 2% you need to open and have at least £5000 in a separate nominated Halifax account.
The best one at present is the Halifax Guaranteed Saver Reward which is offering a good rate at 6.25%.
At the end of the twelve months, you will receive a total of £390 interest providing you have saved a maximum of £5000 in your 10% Regular Saver and have a further £5000 in a second Halifax account.
Are there any conditions attached to this account?
Yes, I’m afraid so. You need to be pretty sure that you can throw away the key to this money for a full 12 months.
If you need to withdraw cash, the interest rate will plummet between 4.36% and 4.45% and your account will be transferred to the Halifax Web Saver for the remainder of the investment.
Also make sure that payments are never missed as one late deposit will result in the account being closed.
What will happen to my money after 12 months?
Your savings including the interest that you have earned will be transferred to a designated Halifax account.
Why such a good deal?
In the midst of the credit crunch, there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel with banks scrambling to offer good deals.
Halifax is competing with tough competition from its rivals including Bradford & Bingley and Abbey who are paying out 7% plus on fixed rate bonds.
However, with a 10% interest rate, Halifax is proudly topping the number one position when it comes to offering fantastic interest rates for savers.
The chart toppers:
No 1 position
Proudly held by Halifax who are launching the 10% Regular Savers Account.
- You earn 10% interest on savings
- Payments must be made by standing order each month
- No withdrawals or late payments accepted or the account will be closed
- To earn 12% customers must have a separate Halifax account with savings of at least £5000 along with £5000 nestled in the 10% Regular Savers Account
No 2 position:
Barclays Monthly Savings
- 7.75% interest earned for one year
- No penalties for missing a payment
- The interest rate will lower to 3.03% for any month where a withdrawal has taken place
- Minimum monthly payment: £20
- Maximum monthly payment: £250
No 3 position
Abbey Monthly Saver
- 7.25% fixed interest rate for one year
- Any missed payment, withdrawals or monthly savings larger than £250 will result in a huge plummet to 0.1% for that calendar month
- Minimum monthly payment: £20
- Maximum monthly payment: £250
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