NS&I withdraws 5.7 per cent savings option and launches new fixed rate of just 3.95 per cent

The minimum investment in Green Savings Bonds is £100.

The maximum amount a person can invest is £100,000 per person for each Issue.

Investors need to be aged 16 or older to purchase Green Savings Bonds.

The full amount deposited in the Issue will be held for three years and cannot be withdrawn during this time.

The Green Savings Bonds are used alongside gilts to raise funds for green projects as part of the UK Government Green Financing Framework.

Green Savings Bonds were first launched in 2021, enabling savers to help fund green government projects across the UK.

Do you have a savings question you'd like financial experts to answer? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.

These Bonds are separate from NS&I’s Net Financing target set to HM Treasury each year.

NS&I launched Issue 5 of Green Savings Bonds, which have now been withdrawn from sale, at a fixed rate of 5.70 per cent gross/AER over a three-year term on August 22.

Dax Harkins, NS&I Chief Executive, said at the time- he was “really pleased that we can offer a new Issue of our Green Savings Bonds at a higher rate”.

Speaking in August, he added: “This is a great opportunity for savers who want to see a guaranteed return on their investment while also making a difference with their savings by helping to make the world greener, cleaner and more sustainable.”

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Lloyds Bank's £175 offer ends this week - hours left to get deal
• Santander offers 'life-changing’ £100,000 paid into account before Christmas
• Barclays is offering £175 cash boost before Christmas plus 5.12% interest rate

The new rate is 1.75 percentage points lower than the previous Issue.

NS&I said the Bonds are available to purchase online at nsandi.com.

Laura Suter, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “NS&I has once again wielded the axe to its savings rates, this time slashing the rate on its eco-savings product.

"This is a trend we’re likely to see on repeat, as many expect that we’ve hit peak interest rates and that savings rates will only drop from here."

Ms Suter said for someone with £10,000 saved, accessing this lower rate rather than Issue 5 would mean a loss of £577 in interest across the three years, assuming annual compounding.

She added: "The cut also puts rates below where they were at earlier this year, with the three-year bonds paying 4.2 per cent up until February.

“After a fairly dismal summer for inflows, we know that NS&I’s guaranteed bonds attracted a huge amount of savers’ money – meaning the provider has already hit its funding target for the year. In turn, that means its other savings products will become less attractive, as it doesn’t need to use high rates to lure more savers in.

“The NS&I rate is now significantly below the current top provider for a three-year bond – which is from JN Bank and pays 5.9 per cent.

"The rate is also below some of the other environmentally-focused accounts on the market, many of which don’t require a three-year tie-up to beat the rate. Anyone hunting around for a green savings option needs to scrutinise the competition carefully, to ensure that what they are doing with their money tallies with their own beliefs.”