NS&I Annual Report 2018-19: NS&I meets all targets and delivers for customers through 'Inspire & Invest' strategy
- NS&I has met all 12 of its service delivery measures for 2018-19 : including delivering £10.8 billion of Net Financing to the Government and £12.8 million of Value Indicator savings to the taxpayer.
- Inspiring a stronger savings culture : nearly half a million Premium Bonds customers have opted to invest between £25 and £99 since the minimum investment amount was lowered from £100 to £25 in February 2019.
- Attracting younger customers : over 70,000 under 16 year olds have become new customers since August 2018, taking the current number of active young savers with NS&I to just over 250,000.
Annual results 2018-19
NS&I delivered £10.8 billion of Net Financing to the Government in 2018-19. This meets the revised Net Financing target of £9 billion (within a range of £6 billion to £12 billion) that was set out in the Budget in October 2018. NS&I also delivered £12.8 million of value to taxpayers as shown by the Value Indicator.
NS&I met all of its targets for 2018-19
NS&I was set 12 service delivery measures for 2018-19 and met all of these, including customer satisfaction. Overall customer satisfaction this year was 84.3%, meeting NS&I’s target of at least 84% and up from last year’s 83.5%. NS&I also met its other customer service targets for timeliness and accuracy in 2018-19, along with its service delivery measures for fraud and customer complaints. NS&I’s efficiency ratio – how cost effectively NS&I manages the funds it holds – improved again in 2018-19, moving to 7.8 basis points (against 8.0 basis points in 2017-18). This means that it costs NS&I 7.8p a year to manage each £100 of stock it holds.
Inspire & Invest – NS&I encourages regular saving and attracts younger customers
2018-19 was the first year of NS&I’s new Inspire & Invest strategy. NS&I has made progress in achieving its purpose of inspiring a stronger savings culture: attracting younger savers and making products more accessible – alongside our work supporting HMRC in the delivery of the flagship Help to Save scheme, which is designed to offer people on low incomes an attractive and straightforward way to start saving.
NS&I Chief Executive Ian Ackerley, said
“I am delighted that we have been able to deliver another significant contribution to the Government’s financing requirement, while also creating a more compelling offer for our retail customers and business-to-business customers in the last year.
“We have supported HMRC to deliver the Help to Save scheme, which more than 105,000 people have joined; and made some important changes to Premium Bonds following the Chancellor’s announcements in the 2018 Budget.
“We have reduced the minimum investment from £100 to just £25 – the first time this has been lowered in the 63 year history of Premium Bonds. We have also introduced Alexa for our Premium Bonds prize checker, renewed ERNIE, and brought in the facility for grandparents to purchase online.
“These steps and others that we plan to make, such as bringing in online Premium Bond purchases for third parties later this year, can help people to build a regular savings habit. We want to remove the barriers to saving where we can, and I’m pleased that nearly half a million customers have taken advantage of the changes to put a little bit away, set up a regular payment, or start saving for a grandchild.
“I am also delighted that we have attracted more than 70,000 young people to NS&I. Building a healthy savings habit is often best begun at a young age – and we aim to maintain a relationship with these savers for many years to come.”
2018-19 annual results
|
Year |
Gross inflows (including reinvestments) £bn
|
C&AIP* £bn
|
Gross outflows £bn |
Net Financing £bn |
Total stock £bn |
Value Indicator £bn |
|
2018-19 (including Q4) |
37.3 |
2.4 |
28.9 |
10.8 |
167.6 |
0.01*** |
|
2017-18 |
42.7 |
2.5 |
35.4 |
9.8 |
156.7 |
0.2*** |
|
2016-17 |
35.0 |
2.3 |
25.5 |
11.8 |
146.9 |
0.1** |
|
2015-16 |
31.5 |
2.1 |
22.3 |
11.3 |
135.1 |
0.1** |
|
2014-15 |
32.3 |
1.6 |
15.7 |
18.2 |
123.9 |
0.3** |
|
2013-14 |
16.4 |
2.0 |
14.9 |
3.5 |
105.7 |
0.3 |
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.
***Excluding 65+ Bonds and Investment Guaranteed Growth 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 2018-19 will be available on nsandi-corporate.com from tomorrow, Friday 21 June. To request a pdf of the 2018-19 Annual Report, please contact the NS&I media team.
–Ends–
Notes to Editors
- NS&I’s Chief Executive, Ian Ackerley, is available for interview to discuss NS&I’s 2018-19 annual results and the first year of our business strategy, Inspire & Invest. To arrange an interview, please contact the NS&I media team (see details below).
- NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.
- NS&I’s new business strategy, Inspire & Invest, launched on 1 April 2018. It sees continued focus on delivering sustainable cost-effective financing for the Government as NS&I’s core purpose. The strategy will ensure that NS&I continues to resonate with savers in a highly competitive savings market through developing products, services and a customer experience that are simple, straightforward and user-friendly. In an era of Open-Banking, the business will focus on continued relevance and accessibility while building appeal with younger savers.
- 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.
- The original Net Financing target for 2018-19 published in the NS&I 2017-18 Annual Report was £6 billion (+/- £3 billion). However, in the Budget in October 2018, this was revised to £9 billion (+/- £3 billion) due to higher than expected financing delivered in the first half of 2018-19.
- NS&I’s Value Indicator target for 2018-19 was to deliver £125 million of value for the taxpayer with a lower limit of £0 million (excluding Investment Guaranteed Growth Bonds and 65+ Bonds). 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 when gilt yields have remained low compared with historic levels. Whilst some of the Value Indicator result was lost to product pricing, the main reason for the low result (of £12.8 million) in 2018-19 compared to the target, was because actual gilt yields were lower than our forecasts at the time the target was set in March 2018.
- Value Indicator – an indication of NS&I’s cost-effectiveness in raising finance for the Government. In general, 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 gilts. Some adjustments and assumptions are made to the calculation, including in identifying and applying an equivalent gilt, in response to specific NS&I product features. Index-linked Savings Certificates are included in the calculation of the Value Indicator and use the same approach as for other products, with one exception to the formula. As the real yield gilt comparators for RPI linked products are currently negative, NS&I applies a floor to the comparative yield set at zero, which means the calculation does not fully reflect the Value Indicator profile of this product. The Value Indicator methodology is agreed with HM Treasury and is reviewed and revised periodically, with its agreement, to support a long-term approach to product strategy.
- The 2019 Spring Statement confirmed that NS&I’s 2019-20 Net Financing target is £11 billion, within a range of £8 billion to £14 billion. NS&I’s Value Indicator target in 2019-20 is to deliver £20 million of value with a lower limit of £0 (zero).
- A small number of the nearly half a million Premium Bonds customers who have opted to invest between £25 and £99 since the minimum investment limit was reduced from £100 to £25 in February 2019, would have already had in place a standing order to buy £50 of Premium Bonds each month, before the change to the minimum investment took place. These customers would have still had to open their investment in Premium Bonds with a minimum of £100.
NS&I media team
Ilana Rapaport 020 7932 6789 ilana.rapaport@nsandi.com
Jonty Alone 020 7932 6633 jonty.alone@nsandi.com
Chris Dowsett 020 7932 6799 chris.dowsett@nsandi.com
Isobel Ashmore 020 7932 6869 isobel.ashmore@nsandi.com
Sebastian Ward 020 7932 6829 sebastian.ward@nsandi.com
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