Overview
- NS&I increased rates on its new issues of 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-year British Savings Bonds and its 3-year Green Savings Bond, with the one-year bond now at 4.69% AER and the 3-year green bond at 4.45% AER.
- The higher-rate issues went on sale on Tuesday and are available immediately to new customers and savers with maturing accounts.
- British Savings Bonds require a minimum £500 deposit and have a per-issue cap of £1 million per person while Green Savings Bonds require a minimum £100 and cap at £100,000 per person, and neither product allows withdrawals before maturity.
- NS&I stresses that money is 100% backed by HM Treasury, which it presents as a different form of capital security from bank protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
- The changes are part of the government’s debt funding mix, routed alongside gilt sales by the Debt Management Office, and could push competition in the retail savings market as NS&I seeks household cash for labelled green and wider public financing.