Nationwide announces new savings and banking rates
Nationwide Building Society has announced details of its new savings and banking rates, which come into effect on Sunday 1 February 2009.Following the half point cut in the Bank of England Base Rate on 8 January 2009; Nationwide will be reducing the interest rates on a number of its savings and banking accounts by an average of 0.41 percent.
Nationwide is committed to supporting savers in this unprecedented low interest rate environment and will not be reducing the interest rate on e-Savings Plus. Nationwide's new online savings account was launched in December 2008 and is designed for customers who are looking for competitive rates with limited instant access to their funds.
No savings account rate is being reduced by more than the Base Rate and several will be reduced by less, including rates on Nationwide's Regular Savings account, reduced by 0.25% and the Monthly Income 60+ account, reduced by 0.44%.
A new one year Tracker Bond issue is also being launched from Monday 2 February 2009, paying between 2.05% and 2.30% above Base Rate, depending on the account balance.
Nationwide offers a number of savings accounts with rate guarantees that offer long term value to savers, including a new guarantee on the e-Savings Plus:
e-Savings Plus: AER for three withdrawals or less guaranteed to pay at least 0.75% more than the Bank of England Base Rate until 1 January 2010 and at least 0.25% more than the Bank of England Base Rate until 1 January 2011;
Monthly Income 60+: AER guaranteed to match the Bank of England Base Rate until 31 January 2011;
Smart: AER guaranteed to pay at least 0.25% more than the Bank of England Base Rate until 1 January 2010;
Cash Child Trust Fund: AER (including additional bonus) guaranteed to pay at least 1.30% more than the Bank of England Base Rate until 1 January 2010;
Regular Savings: AER guaranteed to track changes in the Bank of England Base Rate until 1 January 2010.
Matthew Carter, Nationwide's divisional director of savings, said: "Nationwide is committed to providing a range of accounts that meet the needs of savers. We're pleased to be able to go some way to protecting savers from the most recent cut to the Base Rate. The interest rates on a number of our accounts, such as the Regular Savings and Monthly Income 60+, will reduce by less than that of the Base Rate, while the interest rate of the e-Savings Plus account will see no change at all. To further reaffirm our commitment to savers, we continue to offer a range of accounts with interest rate guarantees that offer long term value and a competitive range of fixed term bond products, including a new issue of our one year Tracker Bond. However, following the half percent cut in the Base Rate, we, like all providers, have had to review our position and manage our portfolio of accounts in relation to current market conditions."
From 1 February 2009, the authorised and unauthorised overdraft rate for all FlexAccounts will be 17.9% EAR. The new overdraft rate remains exceptional value and is one of the lowest in the industry, with many other providers charging rates of around 19% or over. The FlexAccount continues to be one of the most attractive non-fee paying current accounts in the market with benefits such as access to e-Savings, e-Savings Plus and e-Bond, the Society's high interest Internet savings products, and commission-free card use abroad.