Ditch high street banking giants to double your interest on fixed-rate savings deals

At Santander, the rate is 0.9 per cent. Even the Spanish bank’s 123 current account holders, who normally qualify for extra perks, only earn 1.15 per cent, down from 1.4 per cent earlier this year.

Elsewhere, Halifax has cut its rate to tie your money up for a year to just 1.05 per cent – down from 1.2 per cent, a fall of nearly 9 per cent

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at Moneysupermarket.com, says: ‘The main banks are still awash with cash. They are cutting rates to borrowers in the competitive area of personal loans and credit cards. And to balance their books they are paying savers less.

‘Newer banks like Charter – which is online only – pay more because they are growing and need your money.’

Anna Bowes, from data analysts Savings Champion, says: ‘Large High Street banks are not interested in competing on savings accounts. They are only in the best buy tables on current accounts where they pay high rates on small balances.’

If you want to stick to the High Street, the best one-year deals come from Post Office at 1.65 per cent along with Leeds and Skipton building societies and Virgin Money all at 1.6 per cent.

You can get twice as much interest by avoiding the worst mainstream deals on two-year fixes, too. For two years you can earn 2.1 per cent with Paragon Bank, 2.1 per cent at Shawbrook and Kent Reliance, or 2 per cent with Tesco Bank.

But Lloyds pays less than half – as little as 1.05 per cent – and HSBC only 1 per cent.

[“source-thisismoney.co.uk”]