Dublin-based Internet bank first-e
was the first financial institution in the UK to raise interest rates on its
savings accounts, following Bank of England’s recent increase in the base
rate of interest.
first-e increased the interest rates on its savings accounts
from 6.25 per cent AER to 6.51 per cent AER within an hour
of the Bank of England’s announcement.
“first-e is all about offering our customers the very best
banking service so we felt that it was important that our
customers were able to take advantage of the new interest
rate as rapidly as possible,” said Richard Thackray,
first-e’s UK general manager.
“As an independent Internet bank it’s possible to act far
more swiftly than our competitors, so within hours of the
announcement we had sent out teams to change the rate
publicised on our major nationwide ad campaign. By
continuing to innovate and increase the levels of customer
service we hope to continue to revolutionise the UK banking
industry.”
Launched in the UK earlier this year, first-e offers free
banking 24 hours a day. It requires no minimum deposit, while
interest is accrued daily and paid monthly without tax
deductions at source.
first-e is a joint venture of the French bank Banque d’Escompte
and www.enba.com, and is
backed with investments by some blue-chip companies including
CGU, Intel, and Invision. Banque d’Escompte, which owns the
trademark “first-e,” is a limited liability company with a
paid up capital of less than 38 million euros.
