How to earn 10% interest on your Small Savings

One of the challenges of developing a savings culture is how to get good interest rate on your small savings which you intend to accumulate overtime for a particular purpose. But you can overcome this challenges and earn up to 10% interest rate on small savings like N5,000 per month.

A very sure way to do this is to invest in FGN Savings Bonds, which is offered to the public on a monthly basis by the Debt Management Office through 116 financial institutions.

Features

Introduced a retail savings product accessible to all income groups, the FGN Savings Bonds, FSB, presently offers the highest interest rate on small savings. There are two types of FSBs, namely namely 2-years, which matures in two years and 3-years, which matures in three years.

The minimum subscription per investor is N5,000 with additions in multiples of N1,000, subject to a maximum of N50 million, and there are no fees or charges for subscriptions. The offer for subscription is published on the DMO website and it is open for 5 days from the date of announcement.

The FSBs are issued at an interest rate indicated in the offer announcement and interest is paid quarterly to investors.

The average interest rate on the 2-year and 3-year FSB from January to June stood at 8.89 per cent and 9.89 per cent respectively. These rates are far higher than what most banks pay on savings accounts deposits. The interest rates on the FSB are also 2.82 percentage and 3.82 percentage points higher than 6.07 per cent interest rate on one-year treasury bills last week.

This is why the FSB is attracting more money from investors. For example, investment in the 2-year FSB rose by 72% in the second quarter of this year, Q2’22 to N1.63 trillion from N944.4 billion in the first quarter of the year, Q1’22.

Similarly, investment in the 3-year FSB rose by 3.9 per cent in Q2’22 to N2.48 trillion from N2.39 trillion in Q1’22. Combined together, investment in the two variants of FSB rose by 23% in Q2’22 to N4.11 trillion from N3.33 trillion.

Other Benefits

In addition to the high interest rate, you can use your investment in the FSB as collateral for loans by banks. And in case you need your money before the end of the 2-year or 3-year maturity, you can sell the FSB for cash in the secondary market. Thus the FSB is good for savings towards retirement, marriage, school fees, house projects, etc.”

“Investors are to subscribe through stockbroking firms trading on the floor of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and accredited by the DMO to act as Distribution Agents,” said the DMO.