West Bromwich BS

Mortgage lenders that have not yet passed on Bank of England (BoE) base rate savings to their customers could attract the attention of the regulator as it carries out a study into mortgage competition.

Thousands of West Bromwich mortgage customers are due a share of £2 million after the building society admitted it had charged too much interest on some accounts nearly a decade ago.

Thousands of West Bromwich Building Society buy-to-let mortgage customers will be hit by rate hikes from December, despite having products which track the base rate. However, those affected can escape penalty-free.

A battle has broken out among banks and building societies over which offers the best easy access savings rate.

Savers can earn over ten times the current Base Rate but huge numbers are still stuck in decrepit accounts paying paltry returns. In some cases, savers are earning no interest whatsoever.

Egg has today upped the rate on its Savings Account to make it the top-paying, non-restrictive online account.

Fixed savings rates have risen further despite the Bank of England base rate being held today at 0.5% for the fifth consecutive month.

West Bromwich Building Society today came to an agreement with its debt-holders, that should mean savers' money remains safe.

UK building societies have insisted they are still a safe haven for savers, despite a raft of major mutuals having their financial strength called into question this week.