In the FOCUS online fixed deposit comparison, a German bank is now causing a sensation. It offers 2.5 percent for one and 3.15 percent for two years – with solid German deposit insurance. With European competitors there are even 3.4 percent for two years.
Fixed deposit interest rates continue to rise. In the meantime, German banks are also offering attractive interest rates of more than three percent in some cases if savers commit themselves for a longer period.
A look at the 12-month fixed deposit, i.e. for a term of one year, already shows this. Here, European banks such as FIM Bank from Malta offer 3.05 percent interest. They are followed by six banks with 3.0 percent interest for one year. These are the Austrian branch of Banco do Brasil, Privatbanka from Slovakia, the Italian institutes Banca Sistema and Solution Banca as well as BAI from Portugal and Siaulia Bankas from Lithuania.
The Italian Solution Banca and the Portuguese BAI require a comparatively high minimum deposit of 10,000 euros. Banca Sistema and Siaulia Bankas, on the other hand, earn interest on their fixed-term deposits from as little as 5,000 euros, and Privatbanka from Slovakia accepts new customers from as little as 1,000 euros, and FIM and Banco do Brasil theoretically allow fixed-term deposits from as little as one euro; there is no minimum deposit.
At all three banks, deposits of up to EUR 100,000 are guaranteed by the state deposit insurance system prescribed in the EU.
However, the German institutes in the FOCUS online fixed-term deposit comparison are hardly inferior to these offers. To compare them, users only have to click on the German flag under the item “Show more criteria”. The result should raise the pulse of some savers: Aareal Bank is now offering 2.5 percent for a term of just one year. They are followed by Bank11 and PEAC Bank with 2.3 percent and pbb directly with 2.25 percent.
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Aareal even offers 3.15 percent per annum over a term of two years, Ford MONEY Bank offers 3.05 percent and pbb direct 3.0 percent. Bank11 took fourth place with 2.85 percent.
Even longer maturities, on the other hand, are hardly worthwhile: The EU leader Imprebanca from Italy offers 3.5 percent per annum for three-year fixed-term deposits and thus only 0.1 percentage points more for the best offer for two years. Among the German banks, Aareal and GEFA Bank are ahead with this term. Both offer 3.2 percent.
On the other hand, if you only want to park your money for six months, you will find the best offer from a German bank at Bank11 with 1.75 percent. In other European countries, the FIM Bank (Malta) offers the highest interest at 2.55 percent, the BAI (Portugal) at 2.5 and the BNI (Portugal) at 2.45. The interest rates mentioned here are customary in the industry per annum, so with a term of six months, half of them are credited.
Would you rather remain flexible? Then you will find the current top offers for call money here. There, too, the current leader from Germany has interest rates of up to 2.1 percent, and a total of five banks now offer new customers 2.0 percent and more for fixed-term deposits.
Do you still have credit lying around in your savings book or even in your checking account with almost no interest? Then now is the time to switch. Start with a portion, then you can add more later if interest rates continue to rise.
Of course, the higher interest rates are still not enough to offset the rising inflation rate. But doing nothing is even more expensive: With a current interest-free balance of EUR 20,000, you are giving away EUR 630 in interest per year, which Aareal Bank, for example, would pay you if you committed yourself to two years.
Would you like to keep an eye on interest rates for a while longer? Then you should follow the current conditions regularly in the FOCUS fixed-term deposit comparison online.
Important: With fixed-term deposits, you determine at the beginning how long you will deposit the money. A premature disposal is usually not possible.
Tip: Since further interest rate increases are to be expected in the current competition, you should proceed in stages. With the so-called staircase strategy, you divide your savings into different pots. You invest your buffer for emergencies in the call money account, the other parts in fixed-term accounts for, for example, six months, twelve months and 24 months. In this way, you always remain flexible, even if interest rates continue to rise, and you can already use the next higher offer after 6 months.