HSBC France is offering French savers a direct savings account, accessible exclusively via the Internet, paying a gross rate of 6% for six months (with a ceiling of 100,000 euros), and 3.75% afterwards. Savers will be issued with a cash card which they will be able to use to withdraw cash from any Visa ATM in all countries.

Almost a quarter of British citizens do not save. Lloyds TSB therefore wants to encourage its customers to start putting money aside and to that end the British bank is launching next February a programme which will automatically round bank card purchases up to the nearest pound. The difference, that is to say the change, which people used to keep in their pocket or put in a piggy bank, will automatically be transferred to a savings account with the bank. The bank’s highest interest savings accounts are not however included in the programme.

The Spanish bank Banesto, a subsidiary of Santander, is offering a car to customers who open two or three year fixed term savings accounts, instead of paying interest on the accounts. The offer, called “Sobre Ruedas” (which can be translated as “On wheels”) also includes the payment of the related taxes and the cost of transport to the nearest dealer. The type of car depends on the amount and duration of the deposit. For a deposit of 160 000 euros, customers will receive a Citroën C4 family model, while for deposits of 120 000 or 99 000 euros the car will be a C3 or C2 respectively. For smaller deposits customers can obtain a scooter: a Vespa GTS for 38 000 euros, a Piaggio X7 for 33 000 euros and a Piaggio Fly 50 for 18 000 euros. This original offering is part of the fierce competition between Spanish banks to capture retail savings business.