Expat rates: Permanent's cut means fewer short-term options Permanent Bank was paying 2.73pc on a minimum £100,000 fixed for three months. It is now paying 2pc on deposits of this level, falling to 1.9pc for deposits between £50,000 and £99,999 and 1.8pc for balances over £20,000. Permanent's previous rate for a six-month fixed deposit was 2.92pc on £100,000 plus but this has now fallen to 2.2pc or 2.1pc for £50,000-99,999 or 2pc for £20,000 plus. And for nine months, Permanent was paying 3.11pc for £100,000 plus - it now offers 2.4pc or 2.3pc and 2.2pc for the lower tiers. The cut in rates mean that if you now put £100,000 into the Permanent three month fixed deal at 2pc then you'd have £100,500 at the end of that time - that's a quarter (three months) of the 2pc annual interest. However had you put your money on the Permanent's three-month fixed rate last week when it was 2.73pc you'd have something more like £682 interest on your £100,000 at the end of the three-month period. Now, the best three month fixed rate is Bank of Ireland (IOM) with 2.63pc on a minimum £25,000; the top six-month fixed rate deal is 2.57pc from Nationwide International on a minimum £50,000 and for nine months, it is Santander Private Banking's 2.61pc on £50,000 plus. At these levels, you will almost do better by leaving your money in an easy access variable rate account. Currently the best deal is Nationwide International's 2.5pc on £25,000 or more. As this rate includes a bonus of 2pc for the first 12 months then it's a good substitute for an ultra-short-term fixed rate account. More savers are likely to want longer fixed rates than those that last just a few months. Permanent did have the best one-year fixed rate of 3.5pc but it is now paying just 3.05pc on balances of £20,000 or more. Alliance & Leicester had been paying 3.5pc in July but replaced it with its current rate of 3.2pc. This rate of 3.2pc, which is also paid by Bank of Ireland (IOM) and Santander Private Banking, is now the best on offer for those wanting a one-year fixed rate. If you had £20,000 and put it in Alliance & Leicester's 3.2 pc deal (which has a minimum investment of £5,000 while Bank of Ireland demands a deposit of £25,000 for this rate and Santander, £50,000) then after a year you'd have £20,640. For two-year fixed rate deals, Permanent has cut its deal from 3.68pc on a minimum £20,000 and it is now paying 3.1pc on the same amount. Now the best two-year fixed rate is Lloyds TSB International's 3.55pc on a minimum £10,000 followed by Alliance & Leicester and Santander Private Banking both on 3.5pc. Those wanting a three-year fixed rate can now get 3.3pc from Permanent but this is easily beaten by both Lloyds TSB International's 3.75pc and Alliance & Leicester International's 3.7pc. Permanent has also cut its five-year fixed rate deal from 3.84pc, which was the second-best deal on the market. It is now paying 3.5pc for this period. The cut means that only one five-year fixed rate deal remains that looks really attractive. This is Lloyds TSB International's 4.3pc rate, which has been on sale for a month. It is still available at the time of writing but it is now so far in advance of anything else on the market that it surely has a limited lifespan.