One Year Deposit
Online: Vanquis 3.45%
Bank: Santander 4.05%
Building Society: Barnsley 5.00%

Two Year Deposit
Online: Nottingham 4.00%
Bank: The Co-Operative 3.75%
Building Society: National Counties 3.76%

Instant Access
Online: West Bromwich 3.17%
Bank: Santander 2.50%
Building Society: Nottingham 3.25%

Fixed Rate Cash ISA
Online: Clydesdale 4.50%
Bank: Clydesdale 4.50%
Building Society: Barnsley 5.00%

Variable Rate Cash ISA
Online: AA 3.05%
Bank: Santander 4.00%
Building Society: Newcastle 3.00%

Of course none of these rates look good when you consider that RPI is currently running at 5.0% and CPI is 4.40% (according the Office for National Statistics). In fact cash currently locks into a guaranteed loss in real terms.

At the risk of sounding stupid, this is not advice. It is merely a list of some of the best rates currently available. However I advise caution, some banks and building society accounts are not quite what it says on the tin. Some are linked to the stock market – which to my mind is virtually the opposite of deposit. The FSA know this, but so far I have not seen any action by them, though in fairness they are keen to prevent misleading advertising within financial