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Investec Bank (Channel Islands), the Guernsey-based offshore arm of the London and Johannesburg-listed Investec banking group, is promoting the consistency of its Euro Investec Horizon Account...

Investec Bank (Channel Islands), the Guernsey-based offshore arm of the London and Johannesburg-listed Investec banking group, is promoting the consistency of its Euro Investec Horizon Account.

The Euro Investec Horizon Account currently pays 2% gross (2.02% AER), which is 0.75% above the current European Central Bank (ECB) rate of 1.25% -- and, according to Investec, it is one of only a handful of such accounts in the offshore banking arena to have offered one of the top ten rates of interest for more than six months of the past year.

Investec (CI) cites Moneyfacts data taken between 31 March 2008 and 31 March 2009 for the claim.

The minimum investment is $50,000, €50,000 or £25,000. Although the interest rate on this 90-day notice account is variable, it will never fall below the US Federal Reserve, ECB or Bank of England base rates, according to Investec. 

The interest can be paid to a nominated account free of charge, while investors are permitted to make withdrawals in a choice of more than eight currencies by electronic fund transfer.

Investec says the payment of interest on a quarterly basis, which allows investors to effectively compound their interest over the course of a year, is one of the reasons it is able to offer the rate.

Among Investec (CI)’s other findings was the fact that the average interest rate paid on offshore Euro savings accounts dropped by 2.1% in the year to 31 March, to 1.4% from 3.5% on the same date a year earlier. This coincided with a fall in the European Central Bank rate of 2.5%, to 1.5% on 31 March, from  4% on 31 March 2008.

Further information may be found at www.investec-ci.com or by calling +44 1481 723 506.