Zopa Bank savings rates slide down the best buys

Zopa Bank’s two-year fixed rate savings account has fallen off the top of the best buy tables after cuts were made to its whole range.

The sister brand to Zopa’s peer-to-peer lending platform ranked as the highest paying savings deal for a two-year fix earlier this month with a rate of 1.15 per cent.

But this has now been cut to 0.9 per cent.

The top savings deal for two years is now 1.01 per cent from Swedish lender Ikano Bank. It has its own Swedish Deposit Insurance Scheme covering up to £85,000 of savings.

Zopa Bank’s one-year fix now has an annual equivalent rate of 0.75 per cent, rising to one per cent for three or four years and 1.1 per cent for five.

All the deals are competitive but are not best buys.

They do still currently beat inflation, which is at 0.7 per cent.

But it is predicted to rise to 1.2 per cent by the end of next year, so these deals would then be uncompetitive at the current rates.

Zopa Bank’s savings rates are reviewed regularly.

Its one-year product was given an “excellent” rating by comparison website Moneyfacts in September.

Earlier this month, savers could have got one per cent for one year, 1.15 per cent for two years, 1.2 per cent for three year and four years and 1.3 per cent for five years.

In contrast, Zopa’s P2P product offers projected returns of two to four per cent in its Core range and 2.1 per cent to 5.3 per cent for its  medium risk Plus product, albeit without the Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection that bank savings deals offer.

Read more: How Zopa Bank can crack the savings market