NS&I chief executive Jane Platt CBE to stand down

Jane Platt said:

“It has been a privilege to lead NS&I through an extraordinary period for savers and the savings market. NS&I has played a key part in the UK’s fiscal strategy: we have grown the amount savers have invested with NS&I from £73 billion in 2006 to £134 billion at the end of 2015 and saved the taxpayer over £4 billion. During this time, NS&I has served its 25 million customers fairly, providing secure and straightforward savings products while delivering value for the taxpayer and taking account of its role supporting financial stability as banks and building societies recovered from the global financial crisis.

“Over the last decade the NS&I business model has been transformed: in 2006, half of sales came through the Post Office; today NS&I is a modern, 100% direct business with customers able to transact 24 hours a day through NS&I’s UK call centres, at nsandi.com or by post.

“NS&I is managed commercially and very efficiently: since 2006 the ratio of total costs to savings entrusted to us has fallen from 25 basis points to 14 basis points.

“NS&I has an ambitious vision for continuing digital transformation and an outsourcing contract that will deliver £400 million worth of savings up to 2021. I’m particularly proud that we have been able to become increasingly self-funding by providing operational services to a growing number of other government departments such as our growing children’s hub, which will support Tax-Free Childcare payments to parents from 2017.

“People at NS&I are characterised by their commitment, customer focus, integrity and desire to make a difference. I am proud to have worked with them for the last decade and have enjoyed sharing in their success. Now is the right time for me to hand over and focus on my other role as non-executive Board member of the Financial Conduct Authority where I now also chair the External Risk and Strategy Committee.”

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin, said:

“NS&I is an important institution that has benefitted significantly from Jane’s strategic leadership over the past decade. She has driven the modernisation of NS&I and ensured that it continues to offer excellent services to millions of people across Britain.

“I want to thank Jane for the dedication, professionalism and integrity that she has shown over the past 10 years and wish her all the best in the future.”

Jane Platt CBE biography

Jane began her career as an investment manager. She managed pension funds with Mercury Asset Management before moving to BZW where she held a number of senior management positions in their asset management division to become Chief Operating Officer at the time of the creation of Barclays Global Investors. She was Chief Executive of Barclays Stockbrokers and Barclays Bank Trust Company before moving to Reuters as President of their global division, Services for Asset Managers.

She has acted as a non-executive director of Royal London Group and has experience of being a pension fund trustee. She has chaired ACE, the association of government agency and NDPB chief executives and was on the advisory board of Women in Banking and Finance.

Jane has been a non-executive Board member of the Financial Conduct Authority since April 2013 and chairs their External Risk and Strategy Committee.

Notes to Editors

1. NS&I (National Savings and Investments) is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, with more than £130 billion invested on behalf of over 25 million customers. NS&I is both a government department and an Executive Agency of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Its origins can be traced back to the Post Office Savings Bank, established over 150 years ago in 1861. When customers invest in NS&I savings products, they are lending to the Government. In return the Government pays interest or prizes for Premium Bonds. NS&I offers 100% security on all deposits and its business is 100% direct.
2. NS&I outsources its customer-facing and back office services to Atos, under a contract which through further digital transformation will deliver over £400 million of operational savings by 2020-21. NS&I provides Government Payment Services to other government departments, using its efficient back-office capabilities.
3. NS&I’s key annual performance metrics include the Net Finance it raises for Government, its efficiency and value it creates for the taxpayer, customer satisfaction and service availability.
4. NS&I’s savings to the taxpayer are measured by the Value Indicator, and the predecessor Value Add measure, which compares the cost of raising funds through NS&I against the cost of raising funds through the wholesale markets.
5. Net Financing is 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.