Castle Community Bank, the Edinburgh-based not-for-profit financial institution, has raised its fixed term rates for savers. It now offers 1.65% for two years and 1.75% for three years for fixed term deposits of up to £15,000 – a much better rate than the big banks currently offer.
All mainstream ‘High Street’ banks remain under 1% for these fixed term periods and the interest rate rise for Castle Community Bank consolidates its position as having the most attractive rates currently available to savers looking to maximise their investment returns.
The ethos of Castle Community Bank is to provide new and existing customers with a portfolio of financial products similar to mainstream banks, but with a clear emphasis of putting people before profit. The end goal is to help combat financial exclusion, so that people do not have to rely on pay day lenders and debt at exorbitant interest rates.
From its launch eight months ago, Castle Community Bank now has 1,500 customers and currently has £650k of deposits. Moreover, it has advanced around £500k of loans in the last nine months.
According to Rev. Iain May, a former senior executive with RBS and Allied Irish Bank, who help establish the Bank through the merger of two long-established Edinburgh-based Credit Unions (one of which was North Edinburgh Credit Union), the Bank has spiked the interest of affluent young professionals and business people who are looking to gain healthier returns than traditional banking routes now offer.
“March was an extremely busy month for new saver accounts and this clearly bucks the trend of High Street banks undergoing branch closures up and down the country. We now have opened new walk-in branches in the north of Edinburgh and we will be opening more as the bank grows.
“Our digital banking platform has seen a surge in new saver account and loan applications and this, unquestionably augurs well for the future development of this fledgling financial institution unburdened by shareholder dividends, ‘fat cat’ bonuses and significant banking costs.”
Castle Community Bank, whilst different in structure to a traditional High Street bank, adheres to the same robust regulatory requirements and independent scrutiny that protects customer’s interests.
Indeed, Castle Community Bank took well over a year to launch, because of the robust systems it had to adopt.
It was founded on the core principle that the vulnerable in society do not have to get caught up in a debt spiral or turn to payday lenders to make ends meet, but equally, it is a bank with a heavy focus on a strong ethical practice and one that takes corporate social responsibility to its heart, an approach which has brought in many young professionals to become customers.
Moreover, all savings are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) – up to £75,000 (Castle’s maximum deposit is £15,000) and the Bank is regulated by the FCA and PRA – (similarly to the larger “High Street” banks).
The Community Bank invested heavily in one of the most dynamically robust and secure online web presences offering 24/7 online banking.
For more information visit the website www.castlecommunitybank.co.uk
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