NS&I 2015-16 Annual results and un-audited Q1 2016-17 results

• NS&I delivers £11.3 billion of Net Financing and £149 million of savings to the taxpayer
• NS&I’s efficiency ratio improves again, falling from 14 to 12 basis points
• Now a 100% direct business – online, phone and post
• NS&I Government Payment Services grow, enabling NS&I to become progressively self-funding
• Q1 2016-17 sees Net Financing of -£262 million and £69 million of savings to the taxpayer

NS&I today announced its annual results for the year to 31 March 2016. Key points include:

Delivering financial targets

NS&I delivered £11.3 billion of Net Financing in 2015-16 – meeting its target of £10 billion in a range of £8 billion to £12 billion. NS&I delivered £149 million of savings to the taxpayer – using the Value Indicator measure to calculate how much more cost-effective it is to raise funds through NS&I than through gilts. NS&I’s efficiency ratio – how cost effectively NS&I manages the funds it holds – improved once again, hitting 12 basis points (against 14 basis points in 2014-15).

Delivering major projects

Three major NS&I projects – becoming a 100% direct business, via online, phone and post; the closure of the offer for sale of 65+ Bonds which was the biggest selling retail financial product in Britain’s modern history; and the increase in the Premium Bonds maximum investment limit to £50,000 – were completed smoothly and in quick succession in 2015-16.

Growing business-to-business services

NS&I’s business-to-business services continued to deliver improvements and cost-savings to other government departments and at the same time reduced NS&I’s reliance on funding from the taxpayer. NS&I will deliver the government’s Tax-Free Childcare scheme, in partnership with HMRC. NS&I has also been appointed to support the delivery of the Department for Education policy to increase the amount of free childcare from 15 to 30 hours per week for eligible families in England, again in partnership with HMRC.

Service Delivery Measures

NS&I met its other Service Delivery Measures including customer service targets for timeliness and accuracy, but missed its customer satisfaction target. This followed the introduction of a new, more rigorous method of measuring customer satisfaction, which invites customers to provide feedback immediately after an interaction with NS&I. NS&I has plans to address the issues raised by customers, starting with the delivery of an improved authentication process later this year.

Jane Platt, Chief Executive, NS&I, said:

“2015-16 has been a year of growth and delivery for NS&I. Crucially, as well as delivering £11 billion of Net Financing and £149 million of Value Indicator savings for the taxpayer, we also became a 100% direct business, serving our 25 million customers online, by post, or 24/7 through our UK call centres.

“I’m pleased we met our targets for timeliness and accuracy in customer service but the result of our customer satisfaction survey shows there is still room for improvement. We are determined to meet our customers’ rising expectations. Enhancements to our online authentication process and other aspects of our digital experience are central to our plans for 2016-17.

“This will be my last set of NS&I Annual Report and Accounts as I stand down as Chief Executive next month, following ten years with NS&I. I’m very proud of everything my team has achieved over the last decade and wish them all well for the future.”

Un-audited Q1 2016-17 results (April-June 2016)

NS&I’s 2016-17 Net Financing target is £6 billion, in a range of £4 billion to £8 billion. Net Financing for Q1 was -£262 million and NS&I’s Value Indicator figure was £69 million. Five-year terms of NS&I’s Index-linked Savings Certificates were last on sale in 2011 and reached maturity in May 2016. Some customers chose to withdraw their money on maturity and this is reflected in the Net Financing result for Q1 2016-17. There is no change to the Net Financing target for the year.

NS&I’s Value Indicator target for 2016-17 is again to deliver positive value with a lower limit of -£200 million. The lower limit is important because it allows NS&I to continue to balance the interests of its savers, taxpayers and the stability of the broader financial services sector through a period of exceptionally low gilt yields.

2015-16 annual results

_{All figures are in £ billion and are subject to rounding.}

_{*C&AIP is capitalised and accrued interest and prizes earned. All figures are in £ billion and subject to rounding.}

_{**Excluding 65+ Bonds.}

Un-audited Q1 2016-17 results

_{All figures are in £ billion and are subject to rounding. Q1 2016-17 figures are provisional, unaudited and subject to change due to transaction processing (evidence of identity) adjustments, cancellation and any accounting adjustments.}

_{*C&AIP is capitalised and accrued interest and prizes earned. All figures are in £ billion and subject to rounding.}

_{**Excluding 65+ Bonds.}

NS&I reports quarterly on gross inflows and outflows, Net Financing and total stock. Each quarter, NS&I releases unaudited figures and publishes its audited Annual Report and audited accounts each financial year. NS&I’s full Annual Report and Accounts and Product Accounts 2015-16 can be found here.

Notes to Editors

1. NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to more than 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
2. Net Financing – the measure of the net change of NS&I funds, meaning total inflows from deposits, retention of maturing monies and capitalised and accrued interest, less the total outflows from withdrawals and interest or Premium Bonds prize draw payments. A positive Net Financing figure represents a positive contribution to government financing.
3. Value Indicator – an indication of NS&I’s cost-effectiveness in raising finance for the Government. It compares the total cost of delivering Net Financing and servicing existing customers’ deposits with how much it would cost the Government to raise funds through the wholesale market via equivalent maturity gilts. 65+ Bonds are not included in the Value Indicator target. As they were a specific Budget measure, the cost for delivering them was set out in the 2014 and 2015 Budget scorecards.
4. For further information, or to interview Jane Platt, please contact the NS&I media team.