Does anyone know if Post Office/Royal mail will go bust ...risky for Bonds?

[stirling]

Just that really, the woman at the counter urged me to take out the bond before Monday as she said interest rates go down on Monday.
I'm locking away a large ish sum for two years at 4.7%
I'm completely clueless about the financial investment market and would love to invest in shares but worry about risk, that's all the money I have.
I don't want to open up several different ISAs .

Thank you in advance

I would not take financial advice from a shop assistant.

I wouldn't give them a penny. I think they're on the road to ruin- and this was before the recent tv show.

If you mean NS&I bonds, they are not the post office, and are government backed.

However, you can get better than 4.7% on a 2-year fixed rate elsewhere. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/money-mentor/banking-saving/best-fixed-rate-savings-accounts

Multiple ISA's wouldn't be the answer. You aren't allowed to open more than 1 ISA of each type per year, or exceed £20k total per year. (The former changes in April, the latter doesn.t.)

If it's all the money you have, locking it away for 2 years isn’t a great plan. Keep some savings in easy access for emergencies.

And you don't say how much a "largish sum' is, but remember only 85k is protected per bank. NS&I does have an advantage there because they protect up to 1 million.

Firstly, Royal Mail and Post Office are two completely separate companies. The one you're referring to is Post Office. (Ex POL employee here - I know people regularly misunderstand this point).

Secondly, Post Office bonds are provided by Bank of Ireland UK so the solvency of the Post Office is irrelevant.

And thirdly, you'd have FSCS protection if your bank did go out of business, up to £85k per institution. So as long as you don't have over £85k across all products provided by Bank of Ireland UK then your savings would be protected.

Whether it's the right product for you is certainly not for PO staff to advise, but it sounds like they were selling rather than advising.

Ok thank you all for your input.
I think I won't rush to open up "growth bonds " with the post office then.
I wonder if the interest rate is coming down on Monday..
I'll check your link in a mo NoBinturongsHereMate

It's around £120k and I was planning to put 85 into post office growth bonds... I see other unheard of bank accounts and worry if a bigger risk. Thought post office would be safe then heard it's all collapsing.

May I ask what you would do with that sum if it were you ?

Any bank with an FSCS guarantee is safe.

Interest rates are currently dropping. Whether there will be a big jump on Monday is anyone's guess, but the trend is downwards.

If you have an emergency fund in easy access, I would split the 120k across the 2 highest available fixed interest accounts.

If you don't have an emergency fund I'd put 6 months salary in an easy access account and the rest in a fixed one (or 2, to keep below the 85k).

For the above, I'm assuming you have a specific reason for the 2 year fix. If not, lots of other options open up - the first of which would be making sure you have a decent pension.

Have a look at the Boring money site and Money Saving Expert. Loads of advice and information about savings

NoBinturongsHereMate thank you. It was just in relation to interest rates continuing to decline, thought a two year fix might be wise.
Thank you everyone