Savers were dealt a blow after it emerged that Halifax, Nationwide and Bradford & Bingley are to cut savings rates by more than a quarter-point after the base-rate cut this month.

The decision by Halifax and Bradford & Bingley to cut some savings rates by up to 0.4 percentage points will disappoint those who had hoped to escape falling rates as banks try to boost deposits in the wake of the credit crunch. Nationwide will cut its rates by up 0.3 percentage points.

Mark Dampier, of Hargreaves Lansdown, the independent financial adviser, said: “The banks are trying to claw back money on their main accounts. The mortgage market is not in great shape and they will not be making much money from it at the moment, so they are looking to make back the money elsewhere.”

Sue Hannums, savings expert at AWD Chase de Vere, said: “Banks are choosing carefully which accounts they cut. If they are going to get bad publicity, they want to make sure they save the most while doing so.”

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