Overview

• Officials are weighing reducing the annual cash ISA allowance to between £5,000 and £10,000 ahead of Reeves’s July 15 Mansion House speech.
• More than 50 building societies and financial firms have urged Reeves to preserve the £20,000 limit in an open letter describing cash ISAs as a cornerstone of personal savings.
• A survey by AJ Bell found only one in five savers would shift funds into equities if the cap was cut, while 68% of holders oppose any reduction, according to Plum.
• Skipton and Leeds building societies registered a near 50% spike in cash ISA applications this week amid speculation over the proposed cuts.
• Industry bodies warn that lower tax-free limits would shrink low-cost deposits, drive up mortgage costs and undermine efforts to deliver 1.5 million new homes.