Savings accounts - German vs. British

Can anyone recommend a German savings account with a good rate of interest? The rate on my Dresdner account (a normal Sparkonto) is rubbish.

If there are no decent accounts in Germany, is it better to just move my savings back to the UK?

I already have an account in the UK (with the Halifax). That account holds less than a quarter of the value of my Dresdner account, yet last year it earned more than double the interest.

haven't found one yet.


Beware that if you register your Halifax account with an overseas address, even in good old Europe, they will only give you crappy interest rates as only residents qualify for the better rates. Yes I made that mistake.

Really? I have my Halifax account set up with a German address and I get the normal interest rate as far as I know. I'll check that next time I'm over there.

Anyway even if the rate is lower than normal, it's still a lot higher than the one at Dresdner!

That has to be Oxymoron of the day.

The fact is with ECBs base rate at 2%, then you're not going to find a savings account with a good return. You could save your money in a Fonds investment, this is at the mercy of the investment market, but you can get a better retturn on investment, especially in the long run.

The best interest rate is from Postbank. They have an account which gives 3%. Mind you they are a bunch of idiots - but 3% is 3% and it's better than you'd get anywhere else in Germany.

Jean-Pierre

You'll normally get a higher interest on a UK account since the interest level in UK is higher than in Germany. You often see rates around 5% offered at the Jersey / Guernesey banks.

You just have to be remember, that you at the same time accept a currency risk by putting your money in a GBP account. This might matter less, if you plan to move to UK one day.

Henrik

Does anyone know if german banks charge to transfer your money to a british bank? And if so would it be a percentage or a fixed amount? Is it worth paying it to get more interest and then transfer the money back later when you need it? I've looked on the website (dresdner bank) but all i can see is blah,blah,blahblah. And then does the british bank charge you more to accept euros? I should have just put it all in a suitcase and taken it on the plane..

Transfers using the BIC/IBAN numbers that your UK bank will provide you with are free of charge. There are various threads about this already, just have a search for 'IBAN' or 'bank transfer'.

Ah thanks STB, I will search on that

If you've got a Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB) "cash" account you get over 3% (I think it's currently 3.25%) interest on credit deposits to the visa card account, which has the bonus that you can get the money out free from any cashpoint. You need a monthly net income in excess of 1300€ though to be able to open the account. Alternatively the ING-DIBA offers about 3% on an internet-only account, but you then also have to give a "normal" account as reference account to/from which money will be transferred.

OK, 3% isn't great compared to UK rates, but it's a lot better than 0.5%!

German banks charge you for everything.

Banking in Germany is much more expensive than the UK. and dont waste your time looking for better saving rates in Germany.

I keep the minimum ammount in my German accounts and transfer as much as I can back to the UK. They realy love me in my German bank you would think it was their money.