This week First Active joined five other institutions in offering a juicy savings rate of 7.15% to regular savers . . . the best on the market. And on Thursday Bank of Ireland responded by upping its rate from 6.75% to 7% on its regular saving deals.

The move follows the launch of similar accounts by AIB, EBS, Halifax and Anglo, which have rates ranging from 7% to 7.1%.

These attractive rates are nearly double what you would get elsewhere on deposit, although they are restricted to monthly instalments of between 300 and 1,000 a month. They are aimed at attracting SSIA savers who want to keep up the savings habit.

But a saver determined to maximise his return could open six accounts in total and salt away a total of 4,150 a month, or a total of 49,800 per year. That would earn annual interest over 3,500.

Cynics might suspect that these banks could use the oldest trick in the deposits game and up their interest rates to attract lots of customers, only to bring them back down to earth gradually when they have scored lots of new business.

We put this to a spokeswoman for First Active who strenuously denied that its 7.15% interest was a headline-grabbing loss-leader.

"There are no plans to drop it in the future.

That's the rate and the plan is to keep it there, " she said.

But it's worth looking at the terms and conditions of each deal, such as whether you have to open a current account and exactly how long each rate is guaranteed to last.

Here's a summary of what's on offer.

7.15% . . . First Active Maximum monthly contribution: /1,000 FIRST Active's monthly savings limit is among the highest. It also scores on flexibility as you're allowed to save from as little as 1 a month, although you are required to set up a standing order so saving that little wouldn't be very cost effective.

The only downside is the lack of the sort of interest rate guarantee that some other banks are offering, although the bank is adamant that it won't drop its prime rate any time soon.

www.firstactive. ie 7% . . . Bank of Ireland Maximum monthly contribution: /500 LAUNCHED late this week, BoI's Easy Saver rate will remain 2.75% above the European Central Bank (ECB) rate for the first 18 months, which is the best guarantee on the market. The main drawback is that the 7% applies only on balances up to 5,000 after which the rate falls to a less mouthwatering 3%. You are restricted to four withdrawals a year but can also take lots of payment holidays.

www. bankofireland. ie 7.1% . . . AIB Maximum monthly contribution: /300 THEminimum of 10 a month is not too onerous, but the maximum is just 300.

There is a guarantee that the rate will be at least 2.5% above the European Central Bank (ECB) rate until 1 January and will at least match the ECB rate until the following January. However, the first part of the guarantee has only two months left to run, and with the ECB rate now just 4% and set to fall, the second part isn't worth much either.

If you don't already have an AIB feeder account, you must set one up, which is a bit of a hassle considering the low monthly limit on this account.

www. . aib. ie 7% . . . EBS Maximum monthly contribution: /1,000 REGULAR lodgements by direct debit are required to benefit from this account.

(minimum 20 a month). However, this is hardly a drawback as that's the handiest way to do it. EBS pledges to pay at least ECB +3% until 1 April next and to match the ECB until 30 April 2010.

www. ebs. ie 7% . . . Halifax Maximum monthly contribution: /350 YOU have to lodge between 10 and 350 a month for at least 12 consecutive months and make no more than two withdrawals during that time. The minimum payment is 10 a month. Halifax promises to pay at least ECB +1.50% until 31 January next year.

www. halifax. ie 7% . . . Anglo Irish Bank Maximum monthly contribution: /1,000 THEminimum contribution here is 100 a month. A useful feature is that there is no penalty for missing the odd lodgement. The account is designed to last for two years, during which the interest rate is variable but guaranteed to remain at 4.5% for the full term. That's doesn't sound a lot now but with the ECB rate set to fall, it could prove one of the more useful guarantees. However, any premature withdrawals will terminate the account.