Nationwide launches a new guaranteed equity bond

With effect from Monday 12 February 2007, Nationwide is to launch a new tranche of its Guaranteed Equity Bond with improved terms.

The five year bond, with an increased participation rate of 65%, guarantees to return the original investment plus 10% or 65% of any growth, whichever is greater, in the value of the FTSE 100, Nikkei 225 and DJ EuroSTOXX 50 indices.

Nationwide is also offering an early investor bonus for customers who invest in the new GEB. The bonus increases any investment made between 12 February 2007 and 7 April 2007 by up to 0.55%.

Clive Parkinson, managing director of Nationwide Investment Group, said: "With market conditions moving in our favour, we are glad to pass this improvement on to members by increasing the participation rate on the latest tranche of our Guaranteed Equity Bond. This means that investors could now benefit from 65% of any potential stock market index growth based on the performance of some of the world's top companies which are listed on the stock markets of the UK, Europe and Japan.

"The Nationwide GEB is ideal for people who wish to invest in the stock market but have concerns about the risk involved. The GEB not only offers peace of mind to the investor by providing a capital guarantee but also goes one step further. It guarantees a minimum return of 10% over the five year term with the added potential benefit of even greater returns if markets perform well. Therefore, the return is always more than the original amount invested."