The fixed-rate bond market is booming, with competition hotting up between providers and rates topping 7%.

The liquidity freeze means that banks and building societies need to work hard to raise deposit money and they are offering particularly tempting deals to consumers.

Rachel Thrussell, head of savings at comparison site Moneyfacts, explained: “Savers are one of the few groups to have benefitted from the credit crunch, with rates at some of the highest levels that we have seen in recent years. With rates on fixed-rate bonds continuing to increase, for the first time in many years we have seen all of the top six Moneyfacts best buy places being taken up by rates of over 7%.”

First Save, for example, is offering a one-year fixed-rate bond at 7.10% with for those who can put in £1,000, and West Bromwich Building Society’s Ebond, also a one-year deal, offers a rate of 7.05%.

Of course, not everyone will be suited to these fixed-rate investments, but for anyone who doesn’t need access to their money for a period of between six months and five years, the current rates are extremely competitive.