NS&I has released new issues of Guaranteed Growth bonds and Guaranteed Income bonds with reduced purchase limits.
NS&I has reduced the maximum purchase limit for new sales of one and three-year terms of Guaranteed Growth bonds and Guaranteed Income bonds, from £1m to £10,000 or £20,000 jointly from yesterday (11 June).
The current interest rate of the one and three-year issues of the bonds will remain unchanged.
The Guaranteed Growth bonds with a one-year term have a rate of 1.5 per cent gross, while the Guaranteed Growth bonds with a three-year term has a rate of 1.95 per cent gross.
The Guaranteed Income bonds with a one-year term has a rate of 1.45 per cent gross and 1.46 per cent annual equivalent rate (AER), while the Guaranteed Income bonds with a three-year term has a rate of 1.9 per cent and 1.92 per cent AER.
Customers who have maturing Guaranteed Growth bonds and Guaranteed Income bonds are able to renew their investment and reinvest the full value of their holding into these issues.
Jill Waters, retail director at NS&I, said: "Guaranteed Growth bonds and Guaranteed Income bonds have been on sale since 1 December 2017 and have proven extremely popular.
"We are pleased to have given savers over six months to invest larger amounts, but these changes to the investment limit will allow us to manage demand in order to achieve our net financing target for 2018 to 2019, while continuing to deliver positive value to taxpayers."
The bonds can be managed online, by phone and by post and are open to people aged 16 plus.
Both one and three-year terms of Guaranteed Growth bonds and Guaranteed Income bonds are available to purchase online only through nsandi.com.
Scott Gallacher, chartered financial planner at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, said: "The key attraction of NS&I products is the security of being backed by the UK government. This is especially important for those with savings in excess of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme depositors protection limit.
"As there are better rates offered by other providers, the slashing of the maximum purchase limits means that the Guaranteed Growth bonds and Guaranteed Income bonds new savers would no longer have any reason to use these.
"Naturally those with existing holdings in excess of the FSCS protection limit would be reassured that they can still reinvest the full value in a new bond."
aamina.zafar@ft.com
