Easy access rates soar - Aldermore top best buys

25/03/2022

It's hard to believe that only last month it was an achievement to get anything above 0.70% on an easy access savings account.  Rates have soared since with this week seeing the market moving close to the magical 1% mark.

Tandem were the first bank to break the 0.75% mark in 2022 when they raised their easy access savings rate to 0.77% at the start of March.  Since then, Yorkshire Building Society have come up paying the same rate on balances of £10,000+ but offering 0.82% for those with £50,000 or more to deposit.

Paragon then relaunched its triple access saver, which allows three withdrawals before the rate drops sharply, at 0.80% but Atom bank topped that this week with 0.90% on its mobile app only Instant Saver.  Shawbrook Bank went close to that with an increase to 0.89% on its easy access savings this morning but its Aldermore who now lead the way.

Aldermore's Double Access Saver was already paying a competitive rate but has been increased to a market leading 0.95% today.  The account allows two withdrawals per year after which the rate drops to 0.10%.  However, the Peterborough based bank has also raised the rate on its ordinary Easy Access Account, which comes with no restrictions, to a very attractive rate of 0.85%.  Aldermore recently reported its results for 2021 showing deposits had increased to £13.1bn and its likely that these rates will see that figure grow sharply.

With the Bank of England base rate now at 0.75%, it's highly likely that we will see other providers respond and close the gap on those leading the way at the top of our best buys.  The magical 1% mark is now in sight and, while we originally expected this to be broken in the second half of this year, it's looking increasingly likely now that we will see a bank hit that milestone in the second quarter of 2022.

It's been a long wait for savers to see interest rates on the rise but March has certainly delivered for them!