NS&I ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20

  • NS&I delivered £11.6 billion of Net Financing to the Government in 2019-20 and in total, met 9 out of 11 of its Service Delivery Measures (SDMs).
  • Attracting younger savers : NS&I has increased the number of its active customers under the age of 16 by more than 90,000.
  • Premium Bonds : more than 94,000 customers have invested at the new minimum investment amount of £25 since it was lowered from £100 in February 2019.
  • Business- to-business services : NS&I continued to support HMRC in the delivery of Help to Save, which now has 175,000 people signed-up, with £55 million invested. In 2019-20, NS&I also took on the responsibility for administering the Help to Buy: ISA programme.

NS&I delivered £11.6 billion of Net Financing to the Government in 2019-20, meeting the target of £11 billion (within a range of £8 billion to £14 billion). NS&I’s end-year Value Indicator figure was negative, at -£886.7 million, meaning that NS&I did not meet the 2019-20 target of £20 million (with a lower limit of £0). The Value Indicator compares the relative cost-effectiveness of raising money via NS&I with doing so via the gilt markets. Gilt yields reached exceptionally low levels in 2019-20. As a result, the Value Indicator turned negative and continued to fall, as accessing funding through the retail market became a less cost-effective source of government financing. This continued despite NS&I taking action in September 2019, by taking Guaranteed Growth Bonds and Guaranteed Income Bonds off sale.

Including Net Financing, NS&I also met its targets on customer service, efficiency, fraud prevention, customer complaints, diversity, and employee engagement. Customer satisfaction improved to 84.6% in 2019-20, compared with 84.3% in 2018-19. However, NS&I narrowly fell short of meeting its 2019-20 customer satisfaction target of 85%.

NS&I has made good progress in the second year of its five-year Inspire & Invest strategy. The number of active NS&I customers under the age of 16 increased by more than 90,000 in 2019-20 and the average age of NS&I customers dropped from 56 to 53, as NS&I focuses on inspiring a stronger savings culture and attracting younger savers.

2020-21

The March 2020 Budget set NS&I’s Net Financing target for 2020-21 at £6 billion (+/- £3 billion). This target will be subject to in-year revision to reflect government finance requirements arising from Covid-19. NS&I’s Value Indicator target has been suspended for the first quarter of 2020-21 in response to exceptional market conditions. In February 2020, NS&I announced a series of interest rate reductions on its variable rate products, due to take effect from 1 May 2020. These were subsequently cancelled on 17 April 2020 to support savers and to reflect the Government’s funding requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic.

2019-20 annual results

Year

Gross inflows (including reinvestments)

£bn

 

C&AIP*

£bn

 

Gross outflows

£bn

Net Financing

£bn

Total stock

£bn

Value Indicator

£bn

2019-20

38.2

2.6

29.2

11.6

179.2

-0.9****

2018-19

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**

*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.

****Excluding 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 2019-20 can be found here . To request a pdf of the 2019-20 Annual Report, please contact the NS&I media team.

 

–Ends–

Notes to Editors

  1. 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.
  2. NS&I’s 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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 Value Indicator target was suspended for the first quarter of 2020-21 to reflect exceptional market conditions.

NS&I media team

Jonty Alone 020 7932 6633 jonty.alone@nsandi.com

Sara Brown 020 7932 6874 sara.brown@nsandi.com

Chris Dowsett 020 7932 6799 chris.dowsett@nsandi.com

Sam Faulkner 020 7932 6801 sam.faulkner@nsandi.com

James Carr 020 7932 6829 james.carr@nsandi.com

Out of hours: all numbers above diverted to staff mobile phones

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Website: www.nsandi.com