60 days
Marsden Building Society’s Branch Cash ISA 95 (Issue 2) continued to top the ISA notice chart this week, paying 0.55% gross yearly on deposits of £5,000. A higher rate of 0.65% is paid on deposits of £25,000, and a lower rate of 0.45% is paid on deposits of £1,000. Further additions are allowed. Withdrawals can be made subject to 95 days’ notice, or if notice is not given, earlier access is allowed on closure only on 95 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in from cash ISAs are accepted. This ISA must be opened and managed in branch.
Aldermore had the second-best notice ISA rate this week with its 30 Day Notice Cash ISA Issue 11 paying 0.40% gross on anniversary or monthly on a £1,000 minimum opening deposit. This ISA permits further additions. Withdrawals are allowed subject to 30 days’ notice, or if notice is not given, earlier access is permitted on 30 days’ loss of interest. Transfers in are accepted. It can only be opened and managed online.
Despite the imposition of the six-week lockdown, there is good news for Northern Ireland s first-time homeowners.
Ulster Bank, one of our Big Five High Street lenders, has announced the first 90% mortgages since the start of the pandemic.
It hopes that its three and five-year deals will open up the property market, especially to first-time buyers. These could be available early in the New Year.
This will put pressure on the rest of the Big Five - Danske Bank, Bank of Ireland, AIB and the Progressive Building Society - to follow suit.
The Ulster Bank s announcement comes as the property market displays more buoyancy than expected.
There is hope for house-buyers who have not been able to save up a big deposit after Ulster Bank announced new 90% mortgages.
The bank said it hoped the two and five-year deals - requiring people to put up just a 10% deposit on new homes - would open up the market to more people including first-time buyers.
It is the only one of five big lenders here to announce it has reverted to 90% deals.
At the outset of the pandemic, most lenders withdrew 90% deals - partly down to uncertainty over the crisis and its impact on the housing market.
But it has proved more buoyant than expected. The latest government property price index said the average house price here has grown by 2.4% to £143,205 over the last year.