Savings Bonds: Actions Needed to Increase the Reliability of Cost-Effectiveness Measures.

摘要

While the Treasury generally pays lower interest rates on U.S. Savings Bonds than it does on other forms of borrowing from the public, it also incurs substantially higher administrative costs to issue and redeem the paper savings bond certificates. To determine whether these higher administrative costs exceed its interest rate savings, Treasurys Bureau of the Public Debt uses a spreadsheet model to compare the costs of issuing Series EE and Series I savings bonds with those of issuing marketable Treasury securities. GAO was asked to review this model to judge its reliability in measuring the relative costs of Treasurys borrowing alternatives. GAO is recommending that the Bureau of the Public Debt revise the cost-effectiveness model so that it provides reliable information on the costs of the savings bond program. As part of that revision, the bureau should consider updating some of the key data on the performance of the savings bond program, particularly on savings bond redemption patterns.