Alongside the relatively innocuous announcement that the rate of returns on Premium Bonds will fall (themselves a lottery rather than a savings account), National Savings & Investments also announced a staggering cut to the interest rates on their proper savings accounts as from November 24th. Hardest hit is the Income Bond, an instant access account which sees the rate slashed from 1.6% to 0.01%. Joining it on the 0.01% naughty step are the Investment account, ISA and Junior ISA whilst the Direct Saver only drops from 1% to 0.15%. The Income Bond in particular has been tremendously popular, offering the benefits of Government backing and a market leading interest rate, but it will now be worth looking around for alternatives. Given that recent feedback has been that customer service has been poor and wait times on the phone have stretched to hours, we would suggest that any clients looking for alternatives do so sooner rather than later, but expect it to be far from an easy process.