Press Release

NATIONAL SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS COMMENTS ON THE BASE RATE RISE

9 November 2006

In response to the recent rise in the Bank of England base rate, Dax Harkins, NS&I's senior savings strategist commented: "This base rate rise is good news for savers. Our quarterly research shows the number of people saving on a regular basis has plateaued in recent years at just over 50% of the population. Low levels of interest are often blamed but this rate rise should make saving more attractive and should provide the incentive needed to get more people putting some money aside."

National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has raised the interest rate on its Direct ISA from 5.30% per annum to 5.55% following today's increase in the Bank of England base rate by 0.25%.