People who left money in the now ended Bonus-Bond scheme look set for a windfall gain.
Bonus Bonds Photo: supplied
ANZ ended the 50-year old scheme last October as record-low interest rates made it no longer viable.
A tallying up of funds indicates investors who did not withdraw will make a gain of about 10 percent, so $100 invested would return at least $110.
"The final amount investors will receive at the end of the wind-up is yet to be determined, as it is dependant on the actual costs to wind-up the scheme and any investment income earned after 31 October 2020," ANZ general manager Ben Kelleher said.
About $800 million of unredeemed bonds remained from the $3.2 billion that was in the scheme when the closure was announced.
Repayment is expected in the second half of the year, but investors who have already redeemed bonds would not receive any extra payment.
Bonus bonds were introduced by the government in 1970 through the Post Office, but was later sold to ANZ to operate. The bonds never paid interest but were seen as low-risk savings, and bondholders participated in a monthly prize draw with a top prize of $1m.
Most prizes were small, and the odds of winning were just over one in 32,000.