Savers are seeing stability in Canada’s posted savings and GIC rates: The best offers heading into Wednesday, March 11 are unchanged from last week and steady from a month ago.
The best promotional savings rate offers from Bank of Nova Scotia BNS-T continue to lead with a 4.65 per cent promotional rate for three months, followed by Royal Bank of Canada RY-T and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CM-T at 4.60 per cent, also for three months. Once those introductory periods end, rates typically drop sharply.
For an everyday alternative, Saven Financial leads standard savings rates at 2.85 per cent, just ahead of Oaken Financial at 2.80 per cent. Some fintech platforms offer competitive savings rates as well. Neo Financial offers tiered returns that reach 3.0 per cent on balances above $20,000, and KOHO offers up to 3.5 per cent through its paid plan.
Canada Post launches financial accounts through Koho with few no-fee options
The best GIC rates also remain steady at the top. WealthONE continues to lead the one-year term at 3.65 per cent. Achieva sets the pace on two-year GICs at 3.80 per cent, and it remains the leader on five-year terms at 3.85 per cent.
The only change from a month ago worth noting is in the three-year GIC category: The top posted rate of 3.70 per cent is now shared by a wider group. Maxa and Outlook have joined WealthONE, Saven and Achieva at 3.70 per cent, giving savers more choice at the leading three-year GIC rate than they had a month ago.
To put those returns in perspective, the top three-year GIC of 3.70 per cent is better than the best mortgage rate of 3.49 per cent for a three-year fixed, a spread of 21 basis points. On five years, the best GIC rate is 3.85 per cent versus the best five-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.64 per cent. That’s also a 21 basis point difference.
Canadians are finally over GICs. How did we get here?
While posted rates are a useful benchmark, they’re not always the full picture. Banks often send targeted promotions to existing clients on new deposits, sometimes beating the publicly advertised rate. Keeping an eye out for these targeted offers and comparing them with rates elsewhere remains a simple way to improve returns on your cash.
The past month’s steady rate backdrop is arriving amid a noisy global picture. The Iran war has pushed energy prices higher in recent days, and higher energy prices can muddy the inflation outlook, making central banks more cautious about cutting rates. The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25 per cent on Jan. 28, and its next scheduled decision is March 18.
Interest rates are provided by WOWA.ca, which gathers, aggregates and freely disseminates data on mortgage rates, savings accounts, and GIC rates from 50+ Canadian financial institutions.
Jimmy Nguyen is a writer and content developer at WOWA.ca, a Canadian personal finance platform.
