rabobank

walter81

does anyone know if rabo bank is as good as it claims to be?

BuffyBot

Define "good"

BendiBus

walter81 wrote:

does anyone know if rabo bank is as good as it claims to be?

It pays the deposit rates it advertises. It's website works fine and I've successfully transferred money in and out many times.

What claims has it made that you need verified?

TheDriver

Same here, I get what is says on the tin and so so much easier than other banks giving great rates but in small print that they end on certain dates and revert to crap rates. Rabo might lower rates but don't seem to plan to.
Just remember DIRT must come off the rate as with every other bank.

Sonnenblumen

walter81 wrote:

does anyone know if rabo bank is as good as it claims to be?

IMO The Rabbi Bank seems to entice some with cheap adds offering better than average rates but there's always a catch. 'No sneaky ones' I beg your pardon!!

Anyways like all good Rabbi Banks they'll take your money to better them more than you.

Sure their short term 'competitiveness' might appeal to a few but they'll screw you in the long run.

What's disappointing is some people seem to get more excited about making an extra €10 per '000 per anum before DIRT than enjoying a ham sandwich.

Fundamentally Rabbi Banks are self centred centres for budget conscious banking punters, but thankfully there are better stools for better flies.

I mean FFS what next??

BendiBus

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Blah, blah, blah, incoherent waffle

Would you care to explain why you have such a problem with Rabo? Are you a bank clerk with one if the Irish banks showing some kind of misguided loyalty?

Please explain, with evidence, and in English, what Rabo is doing so wrong that you attack them in every thread :rolleyes:

In particular, what do you mean by

Sure their short term 'competitiveness' might appeal to a few but they'll screw you in the long run.

as for

an extra €10 per '000 per anum

The extra €50 (almost) per '000 will add up to a nice holiday for me. The interest on a demand deposit from BOI/NIB would hardly buy me a ham sandwich!

Sonnenblumen

BendiBus wrote:

Would you care to explain why you have such a problem with Rabo? Are you a bank clerk with one if the Irish banks showing some kind of misguided loyalty?


The extra €50 (almost) per '000 will add up to a nice holiday for me. The interest on a demand deposit from BOI/NIB would hardly buy me a ham sandwich!

Touchy, touchy, touchy!

You're earning €50/000 above NR ? Wow you must be doing a lot of bending. I bet its sore. Still you can always look forward to another cheap holiday, Greek Island??

Anyways I've no connection to any bank but the next time you're bending over, lets this boring idea sink in, there are several banks doing a much better job than Rabo.

Enjoy!

BendiBus

Sonnenblumen wrote:

there are several banks doing a much better job than Rabo.

If this is the case then PLEASE let me know which ones and I'll move my money tomorrow. I have no loyalty to any bank. Seriously, I'm only looking for the best return on my cash, so tell me where is better to keep a 10K emergency fund.

Idleater

BendiBus wrote:

If this is the case then PLEASE let me know which ones and I'll move my money tomorrow.

Sonnenblumen wants us all to ignore our personal want for material gain and give all our money to the nice caring people at AIB so that they can "invest" in our communities.

You know, the local AIB sponsored flower beds, the AIB Park that every village has, the AIB swimming pool that no council has paid for and that every one has free access to because AIB are not giving us "better" rates because they are investing the measely interest that we think we want in our communities.

L.

Sonnenblumen

nereid wrote:

Sonnenblumen wants us all to ignore our personal want for material gain and give all our money to the nice caring people at AIB so that they can "invest" in our communities.

You know, the local AIB sponsored flower beds, the AIB Park that every village has, the AIB swimming pool that no council has paid for and that every one has free access to because AIB are not giving us "better" rates because they are investing the measely interest that we think we want in our communities.

L.

Beware Little Folk with little minds.

BendiBus

Sonnenblumen wrote:

there are several banks doing a much better job than Rabo.

I'll repeat my question as you seem to have missed it.

Which bank will give me a better deal on my cash deposit? I honestly would like to know if there's somewhere better to keep my money.

Time Magazine

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Beware Little Folk with little minds.

Sonnenblumen be careful. You're usually a good poster but you're getting a bad rep very quickly that could get you in trouble.

Idleater

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Beware Little Folk with little minds.

I know. That is why I warned the OP not to take any heed to a word of what you have written.

L.

TheDriver

Is he for real? Bottom line is who gives me the best rate on my cash with instant withdrawal possibilities, who cares after that and no queues in my local AIB to deal with or driving fast to make the bank before they close.

Sonnenblumen

TheDriver wrote:

Is he for real? Bottom line is who gives me the best rate on my cash with instant withdrawal possibilities, who cares after that and no queues in my local AIB to deal with or driving fast to make the bank before they close.

Damn right, an dyes I did try to point out the shortsightedness of simplistic approach, but if you're in a hurry or a pending emergency, well simple enough criteria, but IMO your not getting the best return.

Bendibus, I'm not going to give or offer any advice. I've put out some views, to stimulate more informed decision making, I'm wasting my efforts and probably your time.

My criteria are different.

Enjoy your losses.

BendiBus

Sonnenblumen wrote:

I'm not going to give or offer any advice

I'm not asking for advice, I'm asking for an item of factual information. I can make my own decisions.

My criteria are different.

No sh1t!

Enjoy your losses.

As per another thread, demand deposits are for readily available cash. I make my profits on my investments

dellas1979

Ahahaha?

Whats going on here?

I dont understand where the attack came from "Sonnenblumen"? And I know you are going to write back what idiots we are for being with Rabo and how better you are and blah blah blah but what has that got to do with the OPs question?

If you had said " Rabo is a terrible institution to bank with because........" then we might listen.

"'No sneaky ones' I beg your pardon!!" What does that mean like? We are interested to know why you said this!? And also, as you said, what banks are better and why!?

From your poster name and your english I think you are foreign (German?). Dutch/German relations good?

Anyways, as one poster said, "its does what it says on the tin". Minimal hassle. I have been advised that there are other banks out there such as Norther Rock with good interest rates, but I believe it is Sterling (am open to correction on this), and for me this would make it a little messy.

Tazz T

I've found Rabobank very easy to deal with and very transparent - there are no 'catches' that you seem to always find with the high street banks.

More importantly, none of those high street banks would be offering competitive rates now if Rabobank hadn't come in a shaken up the market. For that reason alone, they get my business.

TheDriver

Its like a comedy show! Hope the OP realises that for quick access high interest, Rabo seems to be the best unless our critic can actually suggest anything and not just ramble on about the negatives?

fintan

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Anyways like all good Rabbi Banks they'll take your money to better them more than you.

1) Is your continued use of "Rabbi" bank a typo or is it plain old fashioned Antisemitism?

2) Irish banks take your money to generate billion+ profits for their shareholders the exact same way as Rabo Bank does.

3) If Irish banks are such pillars of the community what interest rates were the they offering before Rabo bank and Northern Rock entered the market?

Sonnenblumen

Its all very simple and if people refrain from silly comments and going way off on tangents well, somebody might learn something.

If you all believe that a couple recent market entrants have somehow democratised the Irish banking system, well I'd disagree. On the contrary you are being sucked in slowly but surely. If it helps you to feel better by believing you're getting a better deal when it is patently obvious from the maths alone let alone much other also important criteria that in fact your losing money, well who am I to interfere? Penny scraping aside, I think many High Street banks will outlive the cheaper solely online versions. Sure there's a market for low cost, low service but....

Anyways I'm wasting time even going near conscience banking when there's a philistine rabble mentality masquerading in silver grey ice skater suits, some don't even know how or why they there. I suppose there is a certain appeal to BLAAAAAAAAAAH for some.

Sarsfield

Sonnenblumen wrote:

If it helps you to feel better by believing you're getting a better deal when it is patently obvious from the maths alone let alone much other also important criteria that in fact your losing money, well who am I to interfere?

You clearly don't understand what a demand deposit account is for.

dellas1979

Still not getting your use of english man. Am being serious.

Can you write it in a non-prose way i.e normal everyday english?

naitkris

well inflation is back above 5% annually to 5.1% for March so most savings accounts in Ireland don't earn you money with the current rates on offer. as a place to keep your money secure and not lose as much as a current account it is a very wise option though.

diversifying is key however.

BendiBus

naitkris wrote:

well inflation is back above 5% annually to 5.1% for March so most savings accounts in Ireland don't earn you money with the current rates on offer.

I agree with this as a rule of thumb. However...

The inflation figure is backward looking (what happened over the past year) where as deposit interest is going forward. So the inflation figure this time next year is more relevant to todays deposit rates (I know rates may change between now & then)

Also, CPI is an estimate based on an average Joe. I'm not average For example, I don't smoke or drive and have a modest mortgage with associated modest interest. So my personal cost of living increase over the past year is likely considerably less than 5%

So a 5% interest payment may indeed make me better off.

I thought I'd just throw those ideas in for the sake of argument as there seems to be unanimity on everything else in this thread (bar one )

dellas1979

Plus also you can put a lump sum in there all at once as opposed to a lot of other banks who only allow you to deposit max €1000 per month. This is what swayed it really for me and Rabo Bank.

TheDriver

Can someone grab my arm please, I feel myself being sucked in slowly but not to worry, I won't "blahhhhh" about it.........
Any time i go into my high street branch service is indeed low whereas online ones are very good service. Is this what you mean to us philistine mentalities?

Nermal

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Anyways I'm wasting time even going near conscience banking

Conscience banking, how droll. Banks maximise profits within the law, and sometimes forget about the latter part. You're a patsy if you don't do the same.

Sonnenblumen

Nermal wrote:

Conscience banking, how droll. Banks maximise profits within the law, and sometimes forget about the latter part. You're a patsy if you don't do the same.

What's wrong with banks making money and yes sometimes people as well as institutions break laws. I bet its more the latter than the former. Twisted faith. If you had a real relationship with a real bank they would be helping you to (a) make your money work harder through optimised earnings potential but with due regard to fire fighting funding etc and (b) provide you with excellent banking services hgh street/online etc at reduced/little cost.

There are also a wide range of innovative but legal tax efficient ways to earn more and still have time to laugh at real patsy's putting € 10k away into a Rabbi Bank account and having enough to buy peanuts for the monkeys at the end of the year.

If you don't know how to make money, where do you start to putting a fire out.

If Mr X reduced his firefighting fund to € 9k, and used the €1k to buy stock eg ICG up almost 100% since end 2006 or TOMCO energy a 2.5p IPO in mid January now at almost 5p. He could afford to give two fingers to any Rabbi Account and walk away smiling.

Patsy's put money in the kitty for others to exploit.

END

Nermal

Sonnenblumen wrote:

There are also a wide range of innovative but legal tax efficient ways to earn more and still have time to laugh at real patsy's putting € 10k away into a Rabbi Bank account and having enough to buy peanuts for the monkeys at the end of the year.

That's wonderful, only we weren't discussing those, were were discussing the merits of current accounts, and how 'real banks' can't measure up to Rabo.

Your figure is on the low side for a firefighting fund, we may need a temporary place for cash, we may be waiting for value to appear.

But please, don't let me get in the way of the retrospective stockpicking...

gandalf

Sonnenblumen one question can you explain why you are calling this institution "Rabbi Bank" please and the meaning behind it?

delly

Ok, seems to be a lot of aggro here but i'll give my 2cents anyhow.

After I sold my house 2 years ago I had about €20k left over, which I would be using to get stuff done with my new house. I had this sitting in my AIB account earning me no interest. Because I couldn't forecast when I'd need the money and how often I would need to make a withdrawal I wasn't going to lock it away in a savings account that would allow only a certain amount of withdrawals or long notice etc. Equally to that I was hardly going to invest in stocks.

When AIB introduced there free banking this account didn't qualify as I didn't need an unnecessary laser card, despite them telling me this was one of the conditions of getting free banking. So I have a €20k account in the black and they are charging me fees and no interest. Seriously, WTF?

So I went ahead and moved it to Rabo knowing that I could take the money out whenever I wanted too, and I would be earning a few quid as a bonus as well. A bit of a no brainer really.

Zaph

Seeing his comments here and on other threads, it appears that Sonnenblaum is unfamiliar with the concepts of liquidity and risk. Not every investment decision has to be about absolute return, the main reason people use accounts such as those offered by Rabo is because they want instant access to their money. Most of the amounts involved are relatively small and will be used at a later date to fund something special, a holiday, a new car or kitchen for example, or are kept as a rainy day fund. The average depositor isn't going to want to risk the money for their holiday on shares that may make them more in the long term but could have lost them money when they need to pay for it. There is also the added factor that most depositors are relatively unsophisticated when it comes to investing, and I don't mean that as a slur in any way, and don't necessarily have the skills required to research what the next "sure thing" is on the stock exchange.

Even if a depositor is capable of researching stocks, the risk factor then comes into the equation. As I said, most of the amounts deposited in Rabo are relatively small, although not necessarily in the opinion of the person depositing them. Depending on circumstances, a grand could be a fortune to someone, and they certainly don't want to risk it on the stock market. Of course that grand won't even buy them €1,000 worth of shares when you take brokerage into account, so they've lost money already. Sure, dividends and share price movements could make them a lot more over the long term, but sticking their grand into an account that will give them a rate that negates most of the effects of inflation is more more attrctive proposition to many people.