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If you are in the lucky position of having a substantial savings pot, you might want to stash it somewhere that’s used to dealing with large sums.
Although the world of private banking may seem mysterious and sophisticated, many providers offer exclusive accounts or rate upgrades for those with smaller sums.
But big-money savers must be careful not to land themselves with an additional tax bill – and should think carefully about future planning.
The personal savings allowance is removed from additional rate taxpayers – those who earn more than £125,000 a year – and stands at just £500 in interest for higher-rate taxpayers.
Wealthy savers should be aware that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme only covers up to £85,000 that is held with each bank, so holdings bigger than that will not be protected.
So even if your savings stand in the hundreds of thousands, or even in the millions, it can still be worth maximising out your annual £20,000 Isa allowance and holding £50,000 in Premium Bonds to make your pots more tax efficient.
But when you’ve got a large sum of money to stash away, it can be difficult to find a bank account that will accommodate your needs – and still earn interest on your holdings.
Savings experts warn that despite the allure of private banks, savers with large holdings should still chase the best rates available across the market.
Anna Bowes, of consumer website Savings Champion, said that in a high-inflation environment, savers should be chasing the best possible rates, rather than keeping accounts for convenience.
“Any saver needs to earn as much interest as possible on their cash these days, and therefore unless they are being offered something that is over and above the rest of the market, why leave your cash in an account that is paying you less?”
The savings expert said that the difference in interest paid annually on £50,000 at 1.75pc and 4.90pc was more than £1,628.
“The difference can be staggering. Many people suffer from inertia when it comes to finding and switching to the best savings account,” Ms Bowes added.
“But when you are talking about earning hundreds if not thousands of pounds more by switching surely it’s worth taking another look at what you’ve got.”
Here, Telegraph Money has a look at what the most exclusive savings accounts are offering customers.
The private banks
Weatherbys Bank offers 1.75pc on an easy-access account that requires a minimum deposit of £50,000, according to data provided by Savings Champion.
For those looking for a fixed rate deal, exclusive provider C. Hoare & Co offers 4.75pc on one-year and 4.5pc on two-year deals on holdings of up to £10m.
On maturity, an account of £10m earning 5pc will pay £10,512,674.96 after a year – and compounding over longer periods of time similarly improves returns.
On a 95-day notice account, the private bank offers 4.6pc on balances of more than £50,000, although all of the bank’s savings accounts are only available to customers who hold a current account with them.
Weatherbys also offers rates of up to 4.9pc on fixes for clients with more than £50,000 to deposit for a year, and up to 4.6pc on up to £2m over two years.
Private bank Cater Allen offers 12-month and 24-month fixed term accounts at 5.05pc and 4.95pc respectively on balances between £85,000 and £5m.
While superficially these may not be the most competitive rates available, many accounts have maximum deposit limits that mean those with significant savings may struggle to achieve returns on all of their cash.
The top rates for easy-access accounts are close to 5pc – with Santander offshoot Cahoot offering 4.9pc on up to £2m for 12 months – whereas the top one and two-year fixes have breached 6pc.
High street banks
Some high street banks also offer better rates to those who can afford to stash away more in an account.
The Bank of Scotland’s easy-access rates improve from just 1.45pc to 1.80pc for those who can afford to stash away £50,000 – although savers are likely to earn more by investing the money or by holding Premium Bonds, which are tax-free.
On its “Premier” private bank investment accounts, those who can put away more than £5m can earn 4pc, and those with more than £10m can see returns improve to 4.15pc.
Beverley Building Society offers 3.15pc on its postal account for savers holding more than £75,000.
Hanley Economic Building Society offers interest at 1.86pc for those who open an account with £100 and 2.05pc on an instant-access account of more than £100,000.
Halifax’s Everyday Saver rates move from just 1.45pc to 1.80pc for accounts of more than £50,000 up to £10m.
On the Chorley Building Society’s account for those aged over 60, rates improve from 3.25pc to 3.35pc for those holding more than £85,000, and to 3.45pc for those holding £170,000.
The Club Lloyds savings account jumps from 1.69pc to 2.2pc, an increase of more than 29pc for those with £100,000 to deposit, while the easy saver improves to 1.9pc, an increase of half a percentage point.
Nationwide’s instant-access saver jumps from 2.25pc to 2.35pc for those saving between £50,000 and £5m.
NatWest’s one and two-year fixed term accounts improve from 5.38pc to 5.41pc for savers with more than £100,000, an increase that is mirrored by Royal Bank of Scotland accounts.
NatWest’s flexible savings accounts range from 1.74pc to 3.25pc for those depositing more than £250,000.
The Royal Bank of Scotland offers a flexible saver from 1.74pc for those saving up to £25,000 and from 3.25pc for those saving between £250,000 and £10m.
Sainsbury’s Bank also joins the ranks of high street banks offering wealthier savers more for their money, paying 4.53pc on balances of more than £1,000 on its restricted-access account, up to £500,000.
Suffolk Building Society’s offering on its “Savvy Saver” accounts improves from 3.75pc to 4.15pc for those holding between £50,000 and £250,000.
Savers can achieve 5.2pc on easy access accounts with The Nottingham with a minimum of £1,000. Ulster Bank also offers 5.2pc but savers will need £5,000 to open an account.
Ulster Bank’s private savings accounts offer between 2.25pc on up to £25,000 and 5.01pc on more than £10,000.
Kingdom Bank offers 3.3pc for a one-year fix on balances of more than £50,000 compared to 3.25pc for a minimum deposit of £2,000, and 3.7pc for a six-month fix.
Rates similarly improve on its two-year and three-year fixes, offering more to customers who can deposit 25 times the minimum balance.
The Bank of Ceylon improves its offerings for savers with more than £50,000 by up to 0.1 percentage points, and the Bank of East Asia also offers better rates for those with more than £50,000 deposited.