Nationwide building society has launched a fixed-rate savings bond paying 5.3 percent interest, available only to its members. The Member Exclusive Bond was introduced this week, a couple of days before the Bank of England raised its base rate to 4 percent on Thursday. The increase was 0.25 percentage points.
Terms and eligibility
The bond runs for 30 months. Savers can pay in between £1 and £10,000, and can make payments for 14 days after opening the account. A full £10,000 saving would earn £1,381 in interest by the end of the term. Applicants must be at least 16 years old.
Nationwide says the bond is part of its commitment to reward existing members for loyalty. Only one bond is allowed per saver. Eligibility requires a qualifying Nationwide or Virgin Money account open since at least 2 November this year.
Accounts can be opened at a branch, online or through the Nationwide app. Once the bond is open, the money cannot be withdrawn until the end of the term.
Market context
Katie Horne of the savings platform Flagstone said banks had been building an anticipated hike into fixed-term savings rates for several months. She said a single 0.25 percent increase was not expected to move fixed rates much further.
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The article’s reporting placed the 5.3 percent rate on a par with the top-paying two- and three-year fixed-rate savings accounts at the time of writing.
Related: Economists say markets overprice Bank of England rate rises
Source: Bank of England · Nationwide
