InvestmentsAug 8 2018

Leek United launches hospice savings account

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Leek United launches hospice savings account

Leek United has launched a cash savings product which has a charitable focus attached to it.

The mutual has launched the East Cheshire Hospice Account which awards a cash sum to the hospice at the end of each year, based on the average balance that customers hold in their savings accounts.

The society explained that it makes the donation from its own funds and not from customer accounts, but it would not say the percentage of average balances that it uses to calculate the donation.

The initial investment in the account is £1 and interest is calculated on a daily basis and paid on 1 January or monthly on the first of each month.

The interest rate at the time of writing was 0.1 per cent gross on balances up to £24,999. Balances of £25,000 and over attract a rate of 0.25 per cent.

Announcing the launch of the account, Leek United chief executive Kevin Wilson, said the launch of the account “builds on the society’s long-standing links” with the hospice.

The building society also supports the hospice through its Feelgood Mortgage initiative.

“We are very proud to be extending our support for the hospice in this way,” Mr Wilson said in a statement.

“Our local communities are central to all that we do as a mutual building society, and I feel sure that a great many savers will see this as a wonderful opportunity to provide ongoing support for the fantastic work the hospice does for patients and their families.”

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst for Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It sounds to me like this is a product which is borne out of good intentions.

“For savers, the rates are not particularly competitive, and I think that, if they want to make charitable donations, I suspect they would prefer to do that themselves, or at least know how much the donations are going to be, when the society uses their balances to calculate them.”

James Yardley, senior research analyst for Chelsea Financial Services, commented: "It is not clear what exactly is going to the charity and I would say the product's interest rates are poor - well below the Bank of England rate. 

"Moreover, other savings products, such as National Savings & Investments, offer 0.95 per cent."