BARCLAYS has come under fire for slashing savings rates for loyal customers even though there has been no change in the Bank of England rate.

The bank said last week that from August rates on five accounts that are no longer open to new business will be cut by up to 0.25 percentage points. The Bank has kept interest rates on hold at 5% since April.

Savers will be disappointed by cuts to its Tax Beater Cash Isa, a flagship account in last year’s Isa season with a rate of 6.5%. The rate dropped from 5.06% to 4.81% last week.

Rates on Barclays Premier Openplan Savings, Flexible Savings, Easy Saver and Bonus Saver accounts will also be cut.

Barclays drew criticism for its handling of Isas this year. It was inundated with requests for its Tax Haven cash Isa, which also paid 6.5%, in the Isa season that finished in April.

Customers who have banked with Barclays for years complained they were having to wait months for the accounts to be opened. It was the third year in a row that Barclays had failed to cope with the backlog.

Under the Financial Services Authority guidelines, banks are supposed to open new Isa accounts within 14 days of receiving a customer’s deposit.

Halifax also came under fire recently for cutting rates on its Websaver, Monthly Saver, Isa Saver, Saver Reward and Instant Saver accounts, though there had been no rate change.

The cuts are evidence of the “two-tier” system that has emerged during the credit crunch. While new savers are being offered great rates by banks desperate to pull in deposits, existing customers are paying the price.

Kaupthing Edge, the Icelandic bank that launched in February, last week increased the rate on its instant-access savings accounts to a market-leading 6.55%, following rises on its one and three-year fixed-rate accounts to 7.15%.

ICICI Bank also pays 7.2% on its fixed-rate bond with a minimum deposit of £1,000.