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Article: Premium Bond holders suffer as interest cuts bite
- Article from:
- Belfast Telegraph
- Article date:
- January 8, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Belfast Telegraph. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Millions of Premium Bond investors have seen their chance of
winning fall dramatically with cuts in interest rates having halved
the total amount of available prize money over the past year, it was
revealed today.
More than 20 million people own the Treasury-backed tax-free
bonds.
Investors use the bonds like a savings account where money can be
put in and withdrawn as desired.
"Interest" is decided by a monthly prize draw, with possible
winnings ranging from Pounds 50 to Pounds 1 million.
The size of the prize fund is allocated as the equivalent of one
month's interest on the total value of eligible bonds.
But the Bank of England base rate has been slashed three times in
as many months, ...