Is your provider passing on the latest base rate increase?

Yorkshire Building Society and Coventry BS see selected variable rates rise, with other providers also making increases.

Last Thursday, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted in favour of increasing the base rate for the 12^th consecutive time. As a result, the base rate now stands at a near 15-year high of 4.50%.

A week on, Moneyfacts data shows that the average easy access rate rose from 2.10% last Thursday to 2.14% today. As for the average easy access ISA rate, this rose from 2.28% to 2.30% in the same period.

Below are just some of the providers which have or intend to pass on the latest increase to their variable accounts.

Following the increase to base rate, Yorkshire Building Society announced it would automatically add 0.25% to its variable savings accounts, which came into effect yesterday. This is the ninth time the building society has passed rises on to savers since February 2022.

“Our decision today to pass on the full bank base rate rise to our accounts continues to reflect our mutual ethos of putting our members first,” said Chris Irwin, Director of Savings at Yorkshire Building Society.

The minimum interest rate paid on its instant access accounts rose to 3.05% AER, while accounts with restricted access rose to a minimum of 3.25% AER. Notably, the rise sees its Rainy Day Account Issue 2 offer 3.85% AER on balances up to £5,000 (with 3.35% AER applied to balances over this threshold). Its Limited Access ISA has also increased to pay 3.60% AER.

“Increasing rates across our range, including our most popular products and our member loyalty savings accounts, continues to reflect our purpose of supporting savers,” said Irwin.

Meanwhile, last Thursday Coventry BS announced its 11^th increase to variable rates since the start of last year, which will see these rates rise by up to 0.25% from 1 June. When the rise comes into effect, all its savings accounts will pay a minimum of 2.25% AER.

Ian Biggs, Head of Product Performance at Coventry Building Society, said that the rate increase demonstrates a “commitment to delivering excellent long-term value to all our members”.

Elsewhere, Tipton and Coseley BS and Leek Building Society increased all variable rates by up to 0.40% and up to 0.55% respectively. Selected variable rates from Loughborough BS also saw increases of up to 0.40%, with its Instant Access Cash ISA 5 now paying 2.40% AER yearly. Finally, Welsh building society, Principality BS increased selected variable rates by 0.15%, including its Triple Access Saver (Issue 4) and Triple Access Cash ISA (Issue 5) which both pay 3.20% AER on balances up to £25,000.

Chase Bank on Thursday announced plans to increase the rate paid by The Chase Saver Account to 3.30% AER. The change comes into effect from 22 May with the new rate automatically passed on to all existing and new customers.

“We’re increasing the rate on our saver account to help customers make their money work harder while providing a simple and straightforward way to save. Having greater flexibility and access to savings, without being charged fees, is important for people when managing their money and supports them in reaching their saving goals,” said Shaun Port, Managing Director for Everyday Banking at Chase.

The day after the decision to increase the base rate, Paragon Bank raised the rates paid by both its Triple Access Cash ISA – Issue 13 and its Triple Access Savings Account – Issue 13. Both accounts now pay 3.51% AER, however, a lower rate of 0.75% AER is applied if four or more withdrawals are made.

Gatehouse Bank, a Shari’ah compliant provider, also made increases to all variable accounts in the week following the decision. Its Easy Access Account is of particular note, paying an expected profit rate of 3.55% AER.

As for Ford Money, it increased all variable rates by 0.15% on Monday, meaning its Flexible Cash ISA now pays 3.40% AER and its Flexible Saver pays 3.60% AER.