Bank savings account rates 2023: How much interest are the UK's biggest banks offering to its customers?

Some of the UK's biggest banks have been told that they will need to justify low saving rates passed onto customers despite the Bank of England interest rate rising to 5%.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has criticised high street banks including Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays and HSBC for not passing on higher interest rates to its customers, with some accounts remaining below 2%. A 14-point plan has now been introduced by the FCA in order to push banks to improve their savings interest rates, amid warnings the worst offenders will be facing "robust action".

Those banks with the lowest saving rates will have to justify their rates by the end of August, with those failing to do so facing action including fines from the FCA. Analysis by the watchdog found that nine of the biggest banks in the country - Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide, Santander, TSB, Virgin Money and The Co-operative Bank - only passed on around 28% of interest rate rises to easy-access savings accounts from January 2022 to May 2023.

This meant that while the Bank of England interest rate rose from 0.25% to 4.5%, interest rates on these accounts rose on average from 0.07% to only 1.25%. Fixed-term saving accounts were also hit, with only 51% of interest rate rises passed onto customers.

Sheldon Mills, the FCA’s executive director, said: “Our opinion is that, absent exceptional circumstances, you should be thinking [of changing savings rates] within a couple of weeks of a base rate change and going through your pricing decisions to move your savings rates. And that is all about getting the value to the savers."

Mills added: “We want a competitive cash savings market that delivers better deals for savers, where interest rates are reviewed quickly following base rate changes and firms prompt savers to switch to accounts paying higher rates. We welcome the progress that has been made so far but this needs to speed up.

"We will be using the Consumer Duty to ensure this is the case – with firms required to prove to us that they are offering their customers fair value.”

Rocio Concha, the director of policy and advocacy at the consumer group Which? welcomed the intervention by the FCA, calling rates currently on offer to customers as "meagre". She said: “Some high street banks have been offering meagre rates to customers for a long time, and it is clear the pace and scale at which rates are passed on to customers needs to be improved, so it’s good to see the regulator clamping down.”

But what are banks currently offering for their instant-access basic savings account? Here's everything you need to know.

What savings rates are UK's major banks offering on easy-access accounts?

Lloyds

Standard Saver Account

• 1.10% variable AER on £1 - £24,999
• 1.35% variable AER on £25,000 - £99,999
• 1.80% variable AER on £100,000 and above

NatWest

Flexible Saver Account

• 1.41% AER/1.40% gross variable up to £24,999
• 2.12% AER/2.10% gross variable between £25,000 and £99,999
• 2.63% AER/2.60% gross variable between £100,000 and £249,999
• 3.14% AER/3.10% gross variable on £250,000 and over

HSBC

HSBC Flexible Saver Account

• 1.75% AER/ 1.74% gross

Barclays

Everyday Saver Account

• 1.15% AER/1.50% gross up to £10,000
• 1.00% AER on £10,000+

Nationwide Building Society

Instant Access Saver Account

• 2.15% AER/gross a year variable on £0.01 to £9,999.99
• 2.20% AER/gross a year variable on £10,000 - £49,999.99
• 2.25% AER/gross a year variable on £50,000+

Santander

Easy Access Saver Account

• 2.50% AER/gross for 12 months from account opening

TSB

Easy Saver Account

• 1.25% gross/AER variable with bonus 0.10% in first 12 months
• 1.15% gross/AER variable after 12 months

M Plus Saver Account

• 3.55% AER on balances up to £25,000
• 2.25% AER on balances above £25,000

Smart Saver Account

• 1.75% gross/AER variable

All information is correct as of Tuesday 1 August.