HSBC and Nationwide BS among providers increasing rates: will your savings see a boost?

The increases will see both variable and fixed rates rise.

The first week of the month brought a raft of changes as numerous banks and building societies either have or are set to refine their savings offerings. HSBC and Nationwide BS are two high street names which announced increases to selected rates this week. Furthermore, providers such as Coventry BS and Yorkshire Building Society have launched and relaunched new products.

These changes come as the base rate hit 5% in June. With the Consumer Duty being introduced at the end of this month, providers may also be looking to fulfil their requirement of offering fair value to customers.

One of the ‘big four’, HSBC announced it would be increasing selected rates in its Fixed Rate Saver Range. Coming into effect today, the rise sees its one-year and two-year Fixed Rate Savers exceed 5.00% AER, paying 5.05% AER and 5.10% AER respectively.

This most recent round of increases from HSBC follows amendments made to its easy access offerings last week. While its Online Bonus Saver rate didn’t change, you can now save up to £50,000 in this account and still receive 4.00% AER in a month with no withdrawals. Previously, the upper threshold was £10,000. Balances above £50,000 will continue to receive 2.30% if no withdrawals are made in a month. Should you make a withdrawal, the rate you’ll receive in that month has also increased to 1.75% AER.

“We want to support customers through this period and provide overall value on our savings accounts that goes beyond interest rates to provide flexibility and convenience for customers who want to save with a trusted high street brand,” said Jose Carvalho, Head of Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC UK.

On Wednesday, Nationwide BS increased the rate paid by selected fixed rate savings accounts and, as a result, its one year fixed rate bonds and ISA now pay 5.10% AER.

As for variable rates, the building society said it will be increasing all instant access accounts by up to 0.80% with effect from next Friday. Included as part of these changes are its Instant Access Saver, Instant ISA Saver and Cashbuilder accounts, which will pay between 2.15% AER and 2.25% AER depending on your balance.

Existing customers with a Loyalty Saver, Loyalty ISA or Loyalty Single Access ISA will also receive an increased rate – each of these accounts will pay 3.50% AER from 14 July.

Similarly, if you have one of the Society's Triple Access Online ISA or Triple Access Online Saver, your rate will rise to 3.50% AER.

As for Coventry BS, it increased the rates attached to its one-year and two-year Fixed Rate ISAs on Wednesday. Offering 5.30% AER and 5.40% AER respectively, these accounts are market-leading in their sectors at the time of writing.

It also reintroduced its Limited Access Saver (Online) (8) . This easy access account is set to be relaunched today with an increased rate of 4.30% AER.

A final mention, Yorkshire Building Society moved the end dates and increased the rates on its one, two and three-year Fixed Rate Cash ISAs yesterday. While both the two-year and the three-year accounts pay 5.20% AER, their one-year counterpart offers a slightly lower rate of 5.10% AER.