Savers Roundup June 2023: Rate hikes are back; GIC competition; LBC Digital being sunset?

The rate hikes are back. In January the Bank of Canada decided to “pause and assess”, saying that it was a conditional pause:

If new evidence begins to accumulate that inflation is not declining in line with our forecast, we are prepared to raise our policy rate further.

Now we know that the Bank of Canada did not like what it saw in its assessment (including the rate of inflation turning back up), because last week it raised the key interest rate once again.

Savings account interest rates were starting to decrease, but now rate hikes are back in savings account land too. Outlook Financial increased its regular savings account and TFSA interest rate from 3.40% to 3.55%, and Achieva Financial (from 3.40% to 3.50%) and Peoples Trust (from 3.00% to 3.15%) had a similar increase. Other financial institutions on our savings account comparison chart might soon follow.

Competition is slowly heating up again for GICs, mostly in shorter terms, where Peoples Trust currently leads for a 1- or 2-year term at 5.25%. If you’re a Canadian business, keep an eye on fintech upstart Vault, which is now offering business GICs, including a 5.10% 2-year rate.

Promos give you 5.00% or more

5.00% is still the standard for savings account promos.

Manulife Bank is now offering 5.00% for 120 days in a new, non-registered Advantage Account opened between May 24 and July 31, 2023. Some existing customers have reported a similar promo for new deposits on existing accounts as well.

New Tangerine Bank or Simplii Financial customers can get 5.25% for 5 months in a savings account. The latest targeted promo for existing customers at Tangerine Bank is 5.25% between June 7 and October 31, 2023.