There’s been mixed news from the banks today which makes for some interesting reading.
Firstly, on the good side, if you’re a saver, savings rates have reached a massive 7% from some banks and building societies, with many having raised their interest rates on savings accounts in the last couple of weeks.
As ever, for everyone gaining from an interest rate rise in one area there’s someone else who’ll suffer – in this case, those looking to borrow money. Mortgage rates are also on the way up – take care if you’re about to come out of a mortagge deal rate.
Perhaps slightly more worrying is the news that Northern Rock have asked the Bank of England for financial assistance. Northern Rock is one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the country, and they’re asking for aid to help finance its lending.
Whilst the initial analysis of this move seems to suggest that this isn’t nothing for Northern Rock’s customers to worry about, and that this is just a temporary measure, it’s a little concerning nonetheless – the markets might give an indication of just how serious this is when they open in the morning, and it will be interesting to see if there is any more fall out from this.