National Savings and Investments

National Savings and Investments (NS&I), formerly called the Post Office Savings Bank and National Savings, is a state-owned savings bank in the United Kingdom. It is both a non-ministerial government department[1] and an executive agency of HM Treasury.[2] The aim of NS&I has been to attract funds from individual savers in the UK for the purpose of funding the government's deficit. NS&I attracts savers through offering savings products with tax-free elements on some products, and a 100% guarantee from HM Treasury on all deposits. As of 2017, approximately 9% of the government's debt is met by funds raised through NS&I,[3] around half of which is from the Premium Bond offering.

National Savings and Investments
Welsh: Cynilion a Buddsoddiadau Cenedlaethol
Non-ministerial government department of HM Treasury
IndustryFinancial Services
Founded1861
Headquarters1 Drummond Gate,
London SW1V 2QX
Key people
  • Ed Anderson, Chairman
  • Ian Ackerley, Chief executive
ProductsSavings and Investments
Websitewww.nsandi.com
From the 1860s onwards, the customer would take their deposit book, such as this 1869 example, to a Post Office each time they made a transaction
A 1921 receipt for a deposit of one shilling in the Post Office Savings Bank
A publicity stamp from around the end of the Second World War urging investors to buy National Savings Certificates for National Reconstruction
A National Savings Week publicity label from 1949

History

National Savings and Investments was founded by the Palmerston government in 1861 as the Post Office Savings Bank, the world's first postal savings system. The aim of the bank was to allow ordinary workers a facility "to provide for themselves against adversity and ill-health", and to provide the government with access to debt funding. As an example, savings certificates were issued in World Wars I and II to help finance the war effort. On 1 June 1957, the Premium Bonds draws were inaugurated, using E.R.N.I.E. – the Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment machine (now located in the Science Museum).

In 1969, the bank was transferred from the Post Office to the Treasury. Its name was changed to National Savings Bank, and it gained an independent legal identity under the National Savings Bank Act 1971.[4]

The name was changed again in 2002 to National Savings and Investments.[5]

The current graphic identity of NS&I, including the NS&I logotype, was created in 2005 by Lloyd Northover, the British design consultancy founded by John Lloyd and Jim Northover.[6]

Role

NS&I manages around £150 billion in savings.[7] Funds from NS&I have historically been a relatively cheap source of government borrowing. NS&I sets interest rates both to attract savers and provide low-cost finance for the government, and 100% of any individual's savings are guaranteed by HM Treasury; rules are in place to ensure that it does not offer market-leading products that would stifle competition.[8]

Operations

NS&I's head office is in Pimlico, London, with operational sites in Blackpool, Glasgow, Birkenhead and Durham. However, its entire back office operation is contracted out to a French company, Atos Global IT Solutions and Services,[9] who use a site in Chennai, India.

NS&I first outsourced out its operations in 1999 to Siemens Business Services; some 4,000 staff were transferred to Siemens, leaving 130 NS&I staff responsible for the design, management and marketing of products, and managing the relationship with Siemens.[10] A 2000 report by the National Audit Office stated that the contract was better value than keeping the operations in-house, and suggested other government departments could learn from the way this public-private partnership was procured and managed.[10] The Siemens business unit was acquired by Atos in 2011.[11]

In the past the bank offered many of its services through post offices, but in November 2011 it was announced that most products would only be available by telephone, online, or by post; Premium Bonds would be the only remaining product sold in post offices.[12] From 1 August 2015, NS&I stopped selling Premium Bonds through post offices, and became a purely direct business.[13]

Products

NS&I offers a wide range of savings and investment products, specialising in tax-free and income-generating products. As of December 2019 the following are offered:[14]

  • Premium Bonds
  • Direct ISA
  • Junior ISA
  • Income Bonds
  • Direct Saver Account
  • Investment Account

Some further products are off-sale and only available for roll-over by maturing investments:

Former products

Products which are no longer available with NS&I include:

  • Children's Bonds
  • Children's Bonus Bonds
  • Investment Guaranteed Growth Bond
  • TESSA-only ISA
  • Fixed-Rate Savings Bonds
  • Pensioners' Bonds and Capital Bonds
  • Ordinary Account/Treasurer's Account/SAYE/Yearly Plan/Deposit Bonds
  • FIRST Option Bonds
  • National Savings Stamps and Gift Tokens
  • Easy Access Savings Account
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See also

References
  1. "NS&I". GOV.UK. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  2. "Who we are NS&I Corporate Site". Nsandi.com. 9 September 2015.
  3. Smith, Oliver (30 July 2018). "Doomed if interest rates go up? The UK government already spends £49 billion on debt interest". IG Markets. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  4. National Savings Bank Act 1971 UK government legislation, Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  5. Story of NS&I Archived 10 October 2013 at WebCite National Savings & Investments, 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013. Archived here.
  6. NS&I John David Lloyd, 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013. Archived here.
  7. NS&I Annual Report and Accounts 2016-2017 National Savings & Investments, 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017. Archived here.
  8. Gompertz, Simon (14 September 2015). "NS&I cuts interest rate for thousands of savers". BBC News.
  9. "National Savings and Investments (NS&I)". Atos. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  10. "National Savings: Public-Private Partnership with Siemens Business Services". National Audit Office. 25 May 2000. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  11. "NS&I confirms three-year contract extension with Atos". NS&I Corporate. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  12. "NS&I Announces Latest Changes As Part Of Its Five Year Modernisation Programme" (PDF). NS&I. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  13. "NS&I 2014-15 results – Business goes 100% direct to satisfy customer demand and maintain efficiency". NS&I.
  14. NS&I Our products
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