Savers Roundup July 2022: 5.00% is the new 4.00%

GICs have hit 5.00%

Only one month ago, our highest tracked 5-year GIC rate was 4.50%. We’ve now hit 5.00% for a 5-year GIC at both Oaken Financial and the somewhat surprising Canadian Western Bank.

Remember that we keep a history of all GIC rate changes on our chart; take a look at Oaken Financial’s GIC rate history.

1-year GIC rate leaders have shot well past 4.00%, with Motive Financial currently offering a 4.24% 1-year GIC.

The rapid rise in GIC rates have led to an interest (no pun intended) in GICs that we haven’t seen for years. There has also been more discussion around odd-term rates, such as 15-month and 18-month GICs.

The best savings account interest rate is in Ontario

Saven Financial (Ontario only) continued to widen its lead atop our savings account comparison chart by increasing its regular savings account interest rate from 2.40% to 2.85% on July 1. For Ontarians, DUCA Credit Union has an even higher savings account interest rate at 3.10%. DUCA’s offer is technically a promotion, although it currently has no end date.

For those outside of Ontario, Motive Financial still has the highest regular savings account and TFSA interest rate, after increasing its rate from 2.00% to 2.20%.

The next key interest rate announcement from the Bank of Canada is on July 13, and more hikes could be in store.

Good USD rates are hard to find

If you’ve got US dollars in Canadian bank accounts, you know that there are not that many good options and the rates don’t keep up with Canadian dollar accounts. In one of our long-standing forum threads on US dollar deposits, a forum member recently pointed out that Tangerine Bank has a 1-year USD GIC offering 3.50%.

Too early to think about your TFSA in 2023?

Given high inflation, should we expect to see $6,500 in TFSA contribution room in 2023? Some forum members are already speculating well in advance.