# Anglo Irish Bank 7% Regular Savings Account V Rabo Direct



## pthedj (10 Jun 2007)

I have just joined up with Rabo Direct & intend putting my SSIA funds there & to continue saving but heard a lady on Today FM this morning mention Anglo Irish's 2 Year Regular Saver Account which is giving a 7% return on regular monthly savings of €100 - €1,000 per month.They do'nt pay interest on lump sums investments but that rate seems to be one of the best around apart from AIB's which has less of a cap.Does anyone know of any catches with the Anglo Irish deal - I'm thinking of leaving the lump sum in with Rabo & then continue regular savings with Anglo to avail of the better rate there, or is there a better option ?


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## cork (10 Jun 2007)

_Are there restrictions with Anglo's refgular savers accounts?_


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## pthedj (10 Jun 2007)

The following is from their website:

"Gross p.a. variable
(CAR 7.0 %)"

"The minimum monthly savings amount is €100, the maximum monthly savings amount is €1,000 per applicant, for a term of two years."

"Your monthly saving contribution can only be made by electronic transfer. Cheques are accepted as initial lodgements only, all future savings contributions must be made by electronic transfer. Your initial lodgement must be received within 30 days of account opening. We cannot accept transfers from an existing Anglo Irish Bank deposit account that you hold with us."

"If more than €1,000 is lodged to your Regular Saver Account in any one month, the surplus amount will be transferred to an Easy Access Savings Account."

"The Account Holder is responsible for ensuring the correctness and accuracy of all payment instructions and the Bank does not accept any responsibility or liability in respect of same."

"Only one regular saver account per applicant is allowed"

"The interest rate is variable with a minimum rate of 4.5% CAR. Details of the applicable interest rate are available upon request."


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## Happy Girl (10 Jun 2007)

pthedj said:


> "If more than €1,000 is lodged to your Regular Saver Account in any one month, the surplus amount will be transferred to an Easy Access Savings Account."


 
Or €2,000 in the case of a joint account.


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## CCOVICH (10 Jun 2007)

There is more info on restrictions etc. in the Best Buys forum.


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## oldtimer (11 Jun 2007)

How much has pthedj in Rabo account? Bear in mind the 5% applies to first 10K only. Also bear in mind monthly saver accounts are totally different than lump sum accounts e.g. the 7% only applies to the monthly amount invested. Anglo Irish Bank at 7% is very good but bear in mind the terms and conditions. In fact, in my opinion, Anglo Irish is the most restrictive e.g. you can close the account anytime but no withdrawals allowed. Also bear in mind they guarantee 4.50% so could change the 7% anytime. Anglo do take lump sums also and their monthly account offering 4.50% not bad. Keep an eye on financial institutions over the next week or so as they decide on increasing their rates following the latest ECB rise.


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## pthedj (11 Jun 2007)

*"How much has pthedj in Rabo account?" *

Nothing yet,account just opened but I'm going to lodge less than 10K there anyway.

*"Anglo Irish Bank at 7% is very good but bear in mind the terms and conditions. In fact, in my opinion, Anglo Irish is the most restrictive e.g. you can close the account anytime but no withdrawals allowed"*

Unless something comes up within the 2 years that I really need access to the money I do'nt mind, I've just managed to save the SSIA for the past 5 years without been able to make withdrawals so I'm sure I'll be ok for another 2.

*"they guarantee 4.50% so could change the 7% anytime"*

Now that would annoy me ! Is there anyone that would guarantee 7% for at least 2 years ?

*"Keep an eye on financial institutions over the next week or so as they decide on increasing their rates following the latest ECB rise."*

So am I better off waiting 2-3 weeks before deciding to open a new Savings account & see who offers the best rates, or just push ahead with Anglo ?


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## ClubMan (11 Jun 2007)

pthedj said:


> *"they guarantee 4.50% so could change the 7% anytime"*
> 
> Now that would annoy me ! Is there anyone that would guarantee 7% for at least 2 years ?


I don't think so. Ony the regular saver accounts from various institutions are offering c. 7%. You'd need to check the various terms & conditions to see what sort of rate guarantees are offered. A lot of this is summarised in the _Financial Best Buys _forum for your convenience.


> *"Keep an eye on financial institutions over the next week or so as they decide on increasing their rates following the latest ECB rise."*
> 
> So am I better off waiting 2-3 weeks before deciding to open a new Savings account & see who offers the best rates, or just push ahead with Anglo ?


I don't think that the recent _ECB _rate increase will impact the regular saver rates which could well be set initially high to capture post _SSIA _savings but then may reduce within the year. Many institutions have already clarified their plans to pass on the recent _ECB _rate increase in part or full on other deposit accounts. Again keep an eye on the _Financial Best Buys _lists for updates.


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## oldtimer (12 Jun 2007)

I agree with Clubman. Doubtful anybody will offer 7% for 2 years. Over the long term the nearest and best could be Bank of Ireland who offer ECB rate + 2.75% for 18 months, so their regular saver will now go to 6.75% and if there is another ECB increase you will get your 7% and indeed it could go above it if ECB rates continue. The terms and conditions with Bank of Ireland are not as restrictive as Anglo e.g. they allow withdrawals. On the other hand you can only save to a max of €500 if you didn't have your SSIA with them. If you had your SSIA with them you can save up to €1000 per month. Of course you can double these amounts by opening accounts for your spouse as well.


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## Thrifty (13 Jun 2007)

Why not open a few accounts - i first took up the AIB regular monthly saver option (capped at €300) before SSIA ended, stuck lump sum in rabo direct and recently opened regular savings account with Halifax (7% variable) (two withdrawls a year up to €750 per month. The savings accounts good for continuing savings habit. Kept lump sum for easy access in Credit Union where tend to get a dividend of 3% most years (less dirt tax) If want to drip feed into a regular savings from a lump sum try try put lump somewhere where you are still getting some interest while it is being drip fed.


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## jrewing (13 Jun 2007)

Thrifty said:


> Kept lump sum for easy access in Credit Union where tend to get a dividend of 3% most years (less dirt tax) If want to drip feed into a regular savings from a lump sum try try put lump somewhere where you are still getting some interest while it is being drip fed.


 
Why not put it in Northern Rock where you'll get 4.5% for on-demand cash ?


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## Buzzby (20 Jun 2007)

I opened an Anglo Regular Saver A/C  a year ago when the interest rate was 5% & I've no problems endorsing it. Its certainly the most attractive rate available & if you can maximise the input (2K per month) & lock it up for 2 years you will get a decent return. With the ECB by all accounts set for another couple of rises by December I suspect the interest rate on this account to go up another .5% this year.


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## oldtimer (20 Jun 2007)

There is no guarantee Anglo Irish Bank will maintain the 7%. Their only guarantee is a minimum rate of 4.50% so they can change anytime. And bear in mind Anglo did not increase the 7% following the last ECB rise so don't hold your breath for ''this account to go up another .5% this year.'' Also they allow no withdrawals - once you withdraw the account is closed. The new EBS regular saver would appear to be better i.e. easy access to your cash and guarantee ECB+3% up to 1st April 2008.


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## bacchus (21 Jun 2007)

oldtimer said:


> The new EBS regular saver would appear to be better i.e. easy access to your cash and guarantee ECB+3% up to 1st April 2008.


 
...but lodgement must be made by direct debit only, so you are commited to lodge same amount every month...

No the case with Anglo as you can wire the money at your own pace, (with max of €2000 per month for joint a/c). So could be €500 one month, €1000 the following one, etc.... but no instant access as you said.

Very similar products IMO, choice depends on personnal needs..


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## Buzzby (21 Jun 2007)

I can only account for my experience with this account over the past year, in that time the interest rate has increased from 5% to 7%, Anglo have not increased the rate every time the ECB have, they have waited for 2 ECB rate increases before raising the rate by .5%. They may indeed change the rate at any time but I suspect this to be unlikely in the short term with many institutions offering similar favourable rates. These are the chances you take! Its obviously not suitable for anyone who wants easy access to their cash.


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## oldtimer (21 Jun 2007)

As I said before study terms and conditions and after that  select the one to suit your personal needs.


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## GreatDane (23 Jun 2007)

No sign of either Anglo or Rabo increasing their interest rates as yet, following the most recent ECB rate rise .... disappointing !

Anyone made enquiry to either institution ?

Regards

G>


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## kilomike (23 Jun 2007)

I was wondering the same myself. Rabo normally keeps a watching brief on this site. I have a Rabo account, well? Rabo are you out there?????????


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## z108 (24 Jun 2007)

I think Rabo wanted love like the money being visited in the advert but some questioning critical posters scared him/her off


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## RaboDirect (24 Jun 2007)

The current RaboDirect rate is 5.0% (a hefty premium over and above the prevailing ECB rate) for amounts up to €10,000. For amounts over this the rate is 3.75%. Note - this is for money on demand and there are no restrictions on withdrawals. 

We believe that our rates and the terms on which they are offered are very competitive, particularly the 5% rate. Of course in a very competitive market that we operate in (and that we have played a major role in stimulating) the customer has a diverse choice of rates and has many options to choose from which is a huge improvement on the past.


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## Jaid79 (24 Jun 2007)

Happy Girl said:


> Or €2,000 in the case of a joint account.


 
If you are married, Halifax will let you open 1 Joint account and an account in both names, 3 accounts in total at 7%. This would give a maxium saving of 2,500E as aposed to AIBs 2,000E per month.


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## GreatDane (24 Jun 2007)

RaboDirect said:


> The current RaboDirect rate is 5.0% (a hefty premium over and above the prevailing ECB rate) for amounts up to €10,000. For amounts over this the rate is 3.75%. Note - this is for money on demand and there are no restrictions on withdrawals.
> 
> We believe that our rates and the terms on which they are offered are very competitive, particularly the 5% rate. Of course in a very competitive market that we operate in (and that we have played a major role in stimulating) the customer has a diverse choice of rates and has many options to choose from which is a huge improvement on the past.


 

Hi RaboDirect

All very true 

However, each time the ECB rate increases by a full 0.25% and you don't raise your deposit rates by the same, your accounts become a little less attractive I'm afraid.

- What are RaboDirect doing (if anything) in respect of the latest 0.25% ECB rate rise, are you going to increase your rates & if so:

(a) when please ?
(b) by how much please ?

... I'd hate to think a market leader and favorite of the people (not to mention, ultimately a mutually owned institution) would be waiting to see if the competitors do anything, before you will.   Hopefully this is not the case.


Also, any thoughts on introducing a regular savings account to top the current offerings from Hallifax, AIB, Anglo & EBS (ie more than 7% car) ?


Finally, it would be very useful if your online system were expanded to facilitate:

- stats on how much (in money terms) was sold / bought for each of the funds you offer each day (kind of like the days trading volume for quoted shares on the stock market)

- the now long awaited & much talked about CGT calculator 


Many Thanks

G>


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## RaboDirect (24 Jun 2007)

We have no plans on introducing a regular saver product in the near future. They are clearly loss leader products at rates of 7%. The rate might look high but when you actually calculate the amount of interest you can earn in one year after taking into account the restrictions, most of them are not as good as you might think. That being said, there is a market for them but unless you intend on paying more than 7% there's not much point in launching one!

Re passing on the ECB rate rise - as previously mentioned our 5% rate for money on demand is a full 1% over the ECB rate so it's unrealistic to expect a rate increase. We are very competitive and will continue to be so in the future. Naturally for reasons of commercial confidentiality we cannot say what our next moves will be. 

The CGT calculator - the tax payable on RaboDirect investment funds is not actually CGT. It is the standard rate of tax + 3%, ie, 23%. We are working on the specifications and design of an automated report that will calculate your profit or loss on all trades within the period. You will then need to pay tax on any profits yourself to the Revenue which is straightforward. The hard part (other than handing money to the Revenue!) is the calculation of profits and this will be done for you. We expect to release the calculator by the end of Sep/start of Oct. As you might imagine this kind of technical development can take a bit of time as we have had to liaise with taxation experts before getting the techie developers started.

Re other suggestions for improvements to the site, please keep them coming as we are taking them into account re future developments. We do currently show our 5 most popular funds on our website but not the volume for each fund. We will be relaunching our public website in early August and will include some interesting investment content.


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## ClubMan (24 Jun 2007)

RaboDirect said:


> The rate might look high but when you actually calculate the amount of interest you can earn in one year after taking into account the restrictions, most of them are not as good as you might think.


Yes - this is something that I have mentioned a few times already. The headline rates are a little misleading if don't consider the effects of the fact that you are drip feeding money into the account. Use this calculator to see how drip feeding €x per month at 7% (or whatever) does not mean 7% of €x * 12 return.


> Re passing on the ECB rate rise - as previously mentioned our 5% rate for money on demand is a full 1% over the ECB rate so it's unrealistic to expect a rate increase. We are very competitive and will continue to be so in the future. Naturally for reasons of commercial confidentiality we cannot say what our next moves will be.


Yes - pity the 5% is only on a maximum of €10K though...


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## GreatDane (26 Jun 2007)

RaboDirect said:


> ....
> 
> Re passing on the ECB rate rise - as previously mentioned our 5% rate for money on demand is a full 1% over the ECB rate so it's unrealistic to expect a rate increase. We are very competitive and will continue to be so in the future. Naturally for reasons of commercial confidentiality we cannot say what our next moves will be.
> 
> ...


 

Hi,

Many thanks for the reply.

With regards to the report to be produced, ideally it should be something with your logo on it which we can attach to our tax return, please.

As for the comment about your rate being 1% over the ECB, the point I was making was it was 1.25% until recently, and even higher in times past, therefore eroding over time 

Clubman also makes a very fair point about the €10k limit, go on ... increase it a bit if your' not prepared to pay us the higher rate above ECB anymore 

Thanks

G>


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## RaboDirect (27 Jun 2007)

*Re: Investment funds profit & loss report*



Garrettod said:


> Hi,
> 
> Many thanks for the reply.
> 
> ...


 
We had further discussions with our tax advisors yesterday on the matter. As you might appreciate we are reluctant to go down the route of providing full blown "taxation advice" to our customers but we are confident that we can clarify matters with the introduction of the investment funds profit & loss report. It will be a report with the RaboDirect logo and footer and we will give more instruction on which Revenue form should be completed and which parts of the form relate to offshore investment funds. 

Perhaps when we have test version ready one of two AAM members who purchase investment funds might like to meet with us at our offices to give us feedback on it? If anyone is interested in this please PM us.


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## camlin90 (27 Jun 2007)

RaboDirect said:


> Re passing on the ECB rate rise - as previously mentioned our 5% rate for money on demand is a full 1% over the ECB rate so it's unrealistic to expect a rate increase. We are very competitive and will continue to be so in the future..


The balance above 10K receives only 3.75%. This is a quarter percentage point below ECB and cannot be regarded as competitive when compared with for instance the demand rates of Northern Rock (4.5%) and Anglo (4%). Even the likes of Ulster Bank are offering 3.85% on a branch operated account


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## NorfBank (28 Jun 2007)

It is rare but when customer service is very efficient then I think it should get a mention. I misplaced my Rabodirect customer account number yesterday. Rang Rabo this morning, it was picked up on the second ring and within 30 seconds I had my customer number after 3 security questions. Hats off to them.
No connection except being a satisfied customer.


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## GreatDane (30 Jun 2007)

NorfBank said:


> It is rare but when customer service is very efficient then I think it should get a mention. I misplaced my Rabodirect customer account number yesterday. Rang Rabo this morning, it was picked up on the second ring and within 30 seconds I had my customer number after 3 security questions. Hats off to them.
> No connection except being a satisfied customer.


 

Yup
Credit where it's due alright, I've been more than happy with the response times etc ... top marks on this front (& thanks to the people at Rabo, who read this forum) !

I just wish the Bank would do everything I want now - i.e. raise it's rates further, do my tax returns this year etc etc )


*Hey Rabodirect*

Interesting offer, to let a few of us perhaps try and help with the design of the Investment report / calculator, for the tax returns.

At a guess, I'd think the ideal people from here to get are a mix of those using your funds & perhaps, those with some experience of completing Tax returns (ie not just PAYE sector), because they will know how much time calculations take, what could be confusing etc.

Another idea (just food for thought) would be to speak to one or two accountancy services and see if they would work with you, to provide a service to those of your customers wishing to pay them to do the tax returns for them etc ? (probably more appropriate for medium to larger investors, I grant you)

Thanks

G>


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## RaboDirect (1 Jul 2007)

*RaboDirect Investment Funds P&L Calculator*



Garrettod said:


> Yup
> 
> 
> *Hey Rabodirect*
> ...



Garrottod
If 2 or 3 people want to give us input we will need to get on to this pretty quickly so if anyone is keen, please PM RaboDirect asap. We have a partnership with Barnardos to raise money for their _Best Chance programme - we will make a €100 donation for each person that volunteers their time.

Just to be clear - we are developing a report that will detail the gains (or losses) based on FIFO (First in, first out) made on trades of investment funds during the taxable period. We will also provide instructions on how to complete the relevant Revenue form. We will not be doing tax returns for people. In any case, I can imagine in a few years time that we will all be obliged to make an annual tax return to Revenue as in other countries. 

We have been liaising with one of the large accountancy firms re the development of the report and what tax instructions we can give our customers. We will also approach Revenue to get their view. 

RaboDirect_


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## ClubMan (1 Jul 2007)

*Re: RaboDirect Investment Funds P&L Calculator*



RaboDirect said:


> In any case, I can imagine in a few years time that we will all be obliged to make an annual tax return to Revenue as in other countries.


Really?! On what basis do you believe that?


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## senara (10 Sep 2007)

"Your monthly saving contribution can only be made by electronic transfer."

What does this mean?
Is it the same as direct debit or can lodgment be made online?


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## IrlJidel (10 Sep 2007)

senara said:


> "Your monthly saving contribution can only be made by electronic transfer."
> 
> What does this mean?
> Is it the same as direct debit or can lodgment be made online?



From [broken link removed]

"Monthly saving contributions are made electronically from another financial institution (e.g. standing order, direct online payment)"

So usually you set up a monthly SO to anglo.

The advantage of Anglo regular saver is that you do ad-hoc transfers (up  to max 1000 pm) manually using online banking.  

So you could set up a SO of the required minimum E100 , set up your anglo account as a payee/beneficiary with whatever online banking you use, and do an online transfer every month with whatever you have spare (up to max remaining 900 pm in this example)


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