A second senior figure at NS&I has stepped down as pressure mounts over a major savings scandal.
The leadership shake-up comes as questions grow over how hundreds of millions of pounds linked to deceased customers were handled.
Ruth Curry, NS&I’s director of people and finance, has resigned from the state-backed savings institution just one day after chief executive Dax Harkins was ousted.
Ms Curry, who joined the organisation in 2019, oversaw the finance team and managed relationships with government officials and banking partners.
Her departure, alongside Mr Harkins’, underlines growing concerns about leadership at NS&I, which manages around £240billion on behalf of more than 24 million savers.
The exits follow reports of a £476million scandal involving funds belonging to deceased customers, first revealed by The Telegraph.
NS&I declined to comment on Ms Curry’s departure, citing personal matters.
The scandal centres on hundreds of millions of pounds owed to the families of 37,500 savers who died, with the problem stretching back to 2008.
Second NS&I boss quits
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NSI
Bereaved relatives were short-changed through lost investments, delayed payments and premium bond prizes that were never distributed.
Some families were compelled to engage solicitors simply to recover money that belonged to them.
Questions continue to mount about a potential cover-up at the bank, with critics demanding clarity on which officials were aware of the failings and when they learned of them.
Both the Conservative Party and Reform UK have called for explanations regarding how the situation was permitted to develop and why public disclosure took so long.
Some families were compelled to engage solicitors simply to recover money that belonged to them
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NSIMs Curry earned £235,000 in the previous year, a sum comprising £85,000 in pension benefits and a £15,000 bonus.
Her career before NS&I included extensive government experience, notably at the Cabinet Office where she advocated for transparency and accountability in public institutions.
She led initiatives on Open Government, a framework promoting data sharing and public scrutiny of official bodies.
Her roles also included serving as clerk to the intelligence and security committee and working within the Office of Public Service Reform on improvements to services including healthcare.
Pensions minister Torsten Bell addressed the Commons on Thursday, acknowledging that “warning signs” had been repeatedly overlooked
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GETTYMs Curry qualified as an accountant in 2006 and previously worked at the Serious Fraud Office, Department for Education, and HM Land Registry.
Pensions minister Torsten Bell addressed the Commons on Thursday, acknowledging that “warning signs” had been repeatedly overlooked.
He told MPs: “What is now clear is that NS&I did not respond to those warning signs as fully as I, and more importantly, their customers, would expect. Nor did the last government act.”
The Treasury became aware of the missing funds in December but only removed Mr Harkins after The Telegraph published its investigation this week.
NS&I also refused to participate in the Tell Us Once bereavement notification service launched in 2011, and similarly declined to join the banking sector’s death notification service established in 2018.
