National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has pulled its inflation-linked savings bond from the market despite the fact that it has been one of the most popular products on offer.
The index-linked bond saw around 500,000 sales during the four months that it was back on the market after having previously been withdrawn in July 2010. However, the government rules state that NS&I is not allowed to dominate the savings account market and, as a result, the bonds were only ever due to be a temporary offer.
Jane Pratt, NS&I chief executive, commented, “The volume of sales over the past few months is such that our forecasts show we were at risk of exceeding the top end of the net financing range, so we needed to take action to reduce sales.”
The organisation stopped making sales at the end of business on Tuesday (6 September) and, although all postal applications received on Wednesday are to be honoured, anything received after midnight will be returned to the customer.
NS&I received an influx of interest from savers keen to find a safe haven for their cash after the economic crisis revealed the weaknesses of many financial institutions.
