Marcus launches one-year bond at 1.45% - but is it any good?
While the rate is competitive, it pays less than many rival deals
30th March 2020 12:04
by Stephen Little from interactive investor
While the rate is competitive, it pays less than many rival deals
Marcus, the consumer bank arm of Goldman Sachs, has launched a one-year fixed rate bond paying 1.45%.
The account can be opened and managed online with deposits of at least £1.
The new account comes 18 months after Marcus launched its best buy easy-access account, which then paid 1.5%, or 0.35% more than its nearest rival.
How does it compare?
The 1.45% on offer from Marcus is a good rate for a one-year bond but it falls below a number of its competitors.
The current best buy is a bond from Vanquis Bank at 1.60%. This account can be opened online with a deposit of £1,000.
It is followed by Secure Trust Bank’s one-year fixed saver at 1.58%, which must also be opened over the internet with at least £1,000.
Anna Bowes, co-founder of Savings Champion, says: “It’s good to see Marcus expanding into the fixed-rate bond market and although it is not a market-leading rate, it could well be popular."
Andrew Hagger, personal finance expert at Moneycomms, says: “The 1.45% rate is decent, but it won't trouble the best buy tables with ten one-year fixed rate bonds already offering 1.50% or more, with the top rate at present being 1.60% from Vanquis Bank.
“It shows how much the market has changed recently, as not long ago Marcus was paying more than 1.45% on its easy access savings account.”
Why are savings rates falling?
Rates have been falling for months due to commercial pressure on banks and falling Bank of England (BoE) base rate.
On 19 March the BoE cut this rate for the second time in a month to an all-time low of 0.10%.
Base rate is factored in to the interest retail banks pay savers, and any cuts to this rate are generally passed on in full.
While this cut has not yet had a huge impact on one-year fixed term savings rates, some lenders are trimming deals anyway.
One bond provider, OakNorth Bank, trimmed the rate it pays on new deals from 1.57% to 1.40% since the base rate cut.
A number of providers have also pulled their one-year bonds. Smartsave has withdrawn its one-year fixed rate at 1.56%, while Shawbrook has also taken its one-year 1.55% bond off the market.
This article was originally published in our sister magazine Moneywise, which ceased publication in August 2020.
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