Cashpoint

There’s a further glimmer of hope for savers as Paragon Bank expands its cash ISA range.

It now offers a 1.26% two-year account and 1.41% on three years.

But non-ISA accounts beat them even though you have to pay tax. Charter Savings’ 12-month fix pays 1.55%, 18-month 1.58% and two-year 1.76%.

Paragon Bank and Shawbrook pay 1.7% on two-year fixes – both need a minimum £1,000 deposit, as does Charter’s two-year.

For savers who don’t want to lock cash away, Virgin Money has increased its easy-access ISA to 1.01%, but you can only make three penalty-free withdrawals.

Andrew Hagger, from Moneycomms.co.uk, says: “The worst thing is to let your money stagnate at rock-bottom rates of 0.1% or less.”