West Brom aggressive pricing is good news for savers

Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.co.uk looks at the most recent developments in the savings market.
The battle for retail funds shows no signs of abating and today West Bromwich BS has stormed the best buy tables for fixed rate savings.

The mutual has pushed the boundaries and is now the top payer over 1 year (3.90%), 2 Years (4.45%) and 5 Years (5.45%) for fixed rate savings bonds.

The minimum deposit requirement of £5,000 and requirement to open the bonds online may put the product out of reach of some people, but the Society will be in a good position to attract those savers now coming off 7% plus fixed rates just 12 months ago.

West Bromwich BS were one of the mutuals to have its credit rating downgraded by Moody's in April which will have made it more expensive to obtain funding from the wholesale markets, hence turning their attention to retail savers with an aggressive pricing policy.

Most of the recent best buy savings products have been very short lived, so if you want to grab a piece of the action, don't dither otherwise you may miss out.