Is your bank playing fair on savings?

BRITAIN’S largest banks are cherry-picking which savers will get the full benefit of this month’s base-rate rise. Few are passing on the full 0.25 percentage-point hike to all of their customers.

At Santander, Lloyds and Halifax, some savers will see no rise at all, while others will benefit by just 0.15 points, rather than the full increase, from the start of next month.

NatWest has said the average rate will go up by 0.2 points, but fails to give exact details of by how much you will benefit.

Barclays is passing on 0.15 points to some savers and HSBC just 0.04 on its Flexible Saver, up from 0.01 pc to 0.05 pc.

Rachel Springall, finance expert from data monitors Moneyfacts, says: ‘The big banks are carefully picking customers to whom they are prepared to offer the full rate rise. Some loyal savers will be disappointed.’

Santander Everyday Saver goes up by a meagre 0.15 points to 0.25 pc. Instant Saver — its easy-access account where loyal savers often end up — rises by an even worse 0.09, putting the rate up from virtually nothing (0.01 pc) to 0.1 pc.

Its Isa Saver and Inheritance Isa savers, with £10,000 or more in their accounts, will see no rise at all from their current 0.5 pc rate, while those with lower balances will get an increase from a miserly 0.1 pc to 0.25 pc.

With NatWest, some, including Savings Builder and Help to Buy Isa account holders, will see no rise either. They will continue to earn 1.5 pc and 2 pc respectively.

Its main easy-access account, Instant Saver, goes up just 0.1 points for some, and 0.25 points at best for others to 0.26 pc. But NatWest refuses to say who will get what. Al l savers currently earn 0.01 pc. In the past it has paid more to those with £ 50,000 in their account.

Lloyds Easy Saver and Halifax Everyday Saver go up just 0.15 points from 0.05 pc to 0.2 pc.

Those in the Halifax Junior Isa ( at 3 pc), Lloyds Junior Isa (2.5 pc), Halifax Young Saver (2 pc), Lloyds Young Saver (2 pc), Halifax Help to Buy Isa (2 pc) and Lloyds Help to Buy Isa (1.5 pc) will get nothing extra.

Loyal savers in Halifax Instant Saver, Halifax Instant Saver Isa, Lloyds Standard Saver and Lloyds Instant Cash Isa get 0.15 points to earn a below-base rate 0.2 pc. By contrast, governmentrun National Savings & Investments (NS&I) is planning to pass on the full increase. Direct Saver will go up to 0.95 pc, Direct Isa and popular Income Bonds to 1 pc, and the Investment Account to 0.7 pc, all from December 1. Some building societies, including the second and third largest, Coventry and Yorkshire, have also been quick to raise rates by the full 0.25 points. Skipton will pay the extra 0.25 from December 5, but only to those in its accounts which are currently on sale. For those in older accounts, they will earn a minimum 0.5 pc. Most Nationwide savers will receive the full rise. But its Help to Buy Isa and Save to Buy Isa will continue to earn 2 pc. We are including the higher rates when they are announced in our Best Buy table — but don’t expect to earn them until next month. Accounts with higher rates have been marked with a *.