Abbey raises current account rate to 6.3%

Abbey has raised its current account rate to a market leading 6.30 per cent, following the Bank of England’s decision to raise the base rate from 5.00 to 5.25 per cent.

This rate is available to anyone moving their account to Abbey from 1 February 2007.

The rate applies for 12 months on balances of up to £1,000 for people switching to Abbey using its account transfer service. Customers need to pay in £1,000 or more each month.

This special rate is more than 60 times that offered by the major banks.

Abbey’s leading current account rates attracted a record number of people to switch their account to Abbey in 2006, according to figures out today. Over seven times as many people switched to Abbey in 2006 than five years ago in 2001, with the vast majority of these - 83 per cent - coming from just five banks.

People are increasingly taking advantage of the ‘current account revolution’, which has seen the best current account rates change from 4.25 per cent below base rate in December 1996, to one per cent above base rate at December 2006.

Steve Shore, Abbey’s Head of Banking, said: “For many years we’ve been aware of the statistic that you’re more likely to get divorced than move your current account. Although there are encouraging signs of switching, many people remain with their bank despite being dissatisfied. 83 per cent of current account holders who are dissatisfied with their account think about switching, but never do.

“There’s no question more people should be switching to take advantage of the fact that they can get a much better deal now than they could get ten, or even five years ago. It’s also a lot easier to switch to Abbey as we do all the work for the customer to move their account.”

People interested in moving their bank account can log on to abbey.com for more information.