I currently have an ISA with Smile (part of the co-operative bank) of £19,124.00 which pays 4.75% interest and have just seen that NatWest have an offer of 7.16% which includes a 2% bonus for a 12 month investment... I'm a bit nervous to change providers, not sure why I'm nervous as it means an extra £400 in interest by the end of next year, but with all the upheaval in banks etc. and I know that Nat West are part of the RBS group, I'm just a bit nervous... can you help, advise, should I change providers, could anything go wrong?

thank you

There are some risks with any provider of ISA accounts, but there is FSA cover on virtually all of them, except those rare situations where there is more than £50,000 [previously £35,000] in the account. Incidentally, the ISA from the NatWest is for transfers of £27,000 or above, so you would need to open an account with this year's ISA subscription but only if you have not already subscribed from £1 to £3,600 in an ISA since 5 April 2008.

thanks for your reply... I didn't see anything about £27,000 on their website and when I spoke to someone there yesterday I said I'd already paid in my full £3,600 for this years allowance and they said I could just transfer the amount over still... mmmm

I have checked the NatWest site and I am wrong!! The £27,000 and over is the amount for the top rate of 7.32% AER and for your amount at Smile, the next tier down applies paying a rate of 7.16% AER. You could transfer directly into the NatWest account and the transfer has to be done within 30 days of receipt of your completed transfer request form. It is a good rate of interest, including the 2% bonus which is paid monthly with the standard interest for 1 year; you may be able to do a part transfer and have the savings split between the two institutions, if the transfer form offers that option. I note that the Co-Operative Bank is reported to be in talks with Britannia Building Society about a possible merger or similar.

Thank you