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Arbuthnot Direct enters the UK savings market

Thursday 21st February saw Arbuthnot Direct become the 42nd new entrant, by our calculations, to enter the UK banking or savings market since the market opened up in 2009.

You can be forgiven for missing it though. Aside from one article on the Daily Mail’s financial website, thisismoney.co.uk, there’s been no coverage of the launch. You have to go to page 2 of Google - also known as the best place to hide a dead body - before you get their website on a search for ‘Arbuthnot Direct’.

Arbuthnot Direct is part of Arbuthnot Latham, which offers Private Banking services to those with £500,000 to deposit or invest, unless you are willing to pay £50 per month for a current account. It’s Direct arm is significantly more accessible with a minimum deposit of £10,000 required and no fees involved.

It has launched with competitive paying fixed rate bonds over three or five years, offering 2.40% and 2.50% respectively. The rationale behind the Direct proposition is to enable the Bank to fund acquisitions, should suitable opportunities become available.

Although the products don’t make our best buy tables, they sit just outside with only the higher minimum balance keeping them out. Given they are beaten by a number of newer names to the market, the stability of a Bank that has been around since 1833 may well make Arbuthnot Direct a more attractive option for savers.

The application process itself is pretty slick. We applied online, the only way to open an account, and our application was completed in less than five minutes. Confirmation was received immediately and emails providing login details arrived shortly after. There’s the ability to fund your account with multiple payments and a cooling off period of 14 days in case you change your mind, which isn’t often available with fixed rate deposits.

All in all, a simple, competitive proposition from a well-run and financed Bank which will certainly have appeal to savers with larger balances looking for fixed rate deposits.

About The Savings Guru

We help savers get the best deal for their money by providing unique insight in to the savings market.  We help prospective banks apply for a banking licence and we help build customer services, products and marketing for them.  We also work with existing banks and building societies to improve their savings propositions.  This  insider view of savings means we are uniquely placed to help savers.

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