TSB details its special savings products yesterday as it emerged that there would be no centralised product from the Irish League of Credit Unions.

The TSB offerings, in effect, mirror those offered earlier by Irish Permanent, which now owns TSB.

Fixed-rate deposit investors will get 4.25 per cent on their savings, while the variable rate deposit accounts will offer 4 per cent initially. TSB says the variable rate will not fall more than one percentage point below the European Central Bank rate, currently at 4.75 per cent. The one difference with Irish Permanent is that there is no £50 (€63.50) threshold.

Equity-based products will be offered through the Scope range from Irish Life, another part of the same group, which will charge a 1.65 per cent annual management fee and a 5 per cent policy charge per contribution.

Savers at the State's 420 credit unions will have to consult their local organisation for details of what, if any, options are available.

A spokesman for the Irish League of Credit Unions said yesterday the league was not in a position to promote the scheme centrally. "The difficulty is that credit unions are doing everything on an individual basis," he said. Three hundred credit unions planned to offer some options, although only half that number had schemes ready for yesterday's start date.

Some credit unions will offer a fixed rate, others a variable one. A third group will determine the return through the annual dividend on shares.

Figures from a number of credit unions indicated variable rates in line with those at TSB and the main banks. Fixed rates at one credit union in Cork was 3.5 per cent, below other institutions.