The Bank of England is holding the base rate at 0.5 per cent and has decided not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) programme following a £50bn boost to the economy in February. The UK interest rate has now remained at 0.5 per cent for three years, despite high levels of inflation. Consumer Prices Index [...]
Virgin Money has increased the interest rate on credit cards for some of its customers from 16.8 per cent to 24.9 per cent. Following criticism of the move, the bank unsympathetically told the customers to either accept the increase, which amounts to nearly 50 per cent, or pay off their balances. The rates on balance [...]
Campaign group Save our Savers today revealed the cost to savers of the Bank of England’s decision to hold the base rate at 0.5% for the 33rd successive month. The group estimates that the low interest rate combined with a retail price index at 5.6 per cent, its highest level for 20 years, and a [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has opted to keep the base rate at 0.5% in August, as widely expected. The rate has remained at its historic low for well over two years and earlier predictions of a rise this autumn lost credibility once UK economic growth slowed to 0.2%, in the second [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to maintain the base rate at 0.5% in May, as widely expected. The Bank’s quantitative easing (asset purchase) programme will also be maintained at its current level of £200 billion. The base rate has remained unchanged since March 2009, despite inflation running at 4%, double the [...]
Low interest rates look set to continue, with the Governor of the Bank of England having warned that “massive” economic challenges faced by high levels of debt would only be worsened by rate hikes. Addressing the European Parliament’s Systemic Risk Board yesterday, Mr King said: “The economic consequences of high-level indebtedness now would become more [...]
The Bank of England has announced that the base rate will remain on hold at 0.5% in January. Low interest rates are to continue despite the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation increasing to 3.3% in November, well above the Bank’s 2% target, and likely to increase further with today’s rising commodity prices and January’s [...]
Mortgage borrowers will be pleased to hear that interest rates could be “pinned to the floor” until 2014. The prediction comes in the latest report by respected economic forecaster, Ernst & Young Item Club, which at the same time acknowledges that high energy prices and the VAT rise due in January will keep inflation above [...]
Britain’s economy is on the road to recovery, Santander has claimed. Barry Naisbitt, chief economist at Santander UK, pointed out that economic growth during the fourth quarter of 2009 has been revised from 0.1% to 0.4%. He added that the economy has continued growing during 2010. “Some recent indicators, particularly survey indicators of output, are [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has published the minutes of its April rate-setting meeting which reveal that the decision to keep the base rate at its historic low of 0.5% was unanimous. The minutes state: “All members agreed that the events of the past month had not been significant enough to substantially alter [...]
The UK’s official rate of inflation rose to 3.4% in March, up from 3% in February and again exceeding the Government’s target of 2%. The rate, which is based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and therefore excludes housing costs, was on the wrong side of expectations as it nudged towards the 14-month high of [...]
The collapse of the remortage market as borrowers coming to the end of fixed-rate deals opt to remain on reversion rates, is prompting lenders to raise their standard variable rates (SRVs). According to Moneyfacts.co.uk some borrowers on SVRs have benefited from the record low 0.5% base rate but others have not been so lucky. The [...]
Interest rates on personal loans are finally starting to fall. The average interest rate on the top ten loan deals has fallen to 8.35%, the lowest level since the Bank of England reduced the base rate to 0.5% last March. When the Bank of England first lowered the base rate, mortgage and current account providers [...]
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has kept the base rate at 0.5% in November, as widely expected. The historically low rate has been extended for the eighth successive month, in efforts to keep borrowing as cheap as possible as the UK struggles on in recession. In addition, the Bank has announced that it [...]
Consumers have seen very little benefit from the Bank of England holding its base rate at a record low of 0.5% for six months, a consumer advice site pointed out this week. Interest rates on savings accounts have dropped, while rates on mortgages, credit cards, and personal loans have continued to rise, said Moneyfacts.co.uk. Research [...]
Barnsley Building Society has launched a range of new Online Bonds paying interest at a fixed rate of up to 5.4%. The three, four, and five year bonds pay a gross/AER rate of 5%, 5.15%, and 5.4% respectively. Minimum balance to open the bonds is £100, and maximum is £500,000. Sarah Lawrence, Barnsley’s senior product [...]
Consumers taking out a personal loan are “paying through the nose” due to soaring interest rates. Banks are now charging an average APR of 10.32% on personal loans even though the Bank of England’s base rate has been held at a record low of 0.5%. This compares to an average personal loan APR of 8.71% [...]
Homeowners will be forced to “scramble around” for good value fixed-rate mortgages in the future as interest rates “fly up”, an industry expert has warned. Jacqueline Thornton, financial planner at Re-Financial Planning, said householders that are currently happy to benefit from currently low-priced standard variable rate mortgages will struggle to find a reasonably priced fixed-rate [...]
Homeowners increasingly prefer to stick with a standard variable rate (SVR) mortgage rather than taking out a fixed-rate deal. Research by Unbiased.co.uk found 27% of homeowners are now on an SVR mortgage, compared with 23% earlier this year. A quarter of those on an SVR mortgage said they have no immediate plans to switch to [...]
Banks are pocketing extra cash rather than passing on lower interest rates to mortgage customers, a Daily Mail investigation revealed this week. Homeowners are paying an average of £1,788 per year more than they should be as banks use the historically low base rate of 0.5% to shore up their ailing coffers. Twelve months ago [...]
ABI calls for transparency over pension charges
A ‘protocol’ should be given to members of company and private pension schemes, giving clear information on charges, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says. The ABI’s call for pension charges to be made clearer comes prior to the introduction of automatic enrolment in autumn, when employers will be required to enrol workers in a [...]
Report tackles shortage of rented homes
With soaring demand for accommodation pushing rents to an all-time high, a new report suggests that rules on affordable homes should be relaxed to encourage the building of homes for rent. The average rent paid by private tenants in England and Wales reached £725 a month in July according to property group LSL. The government [...]
Police seize millionth uninsured vehicle
Police have seized the millionth uninsured vehicle, indicating the size of the problem of uninsured driving in the UK. The vehicle was seized in Birmingham, which is one of UK’s motor insurance evasion hotspots. According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), Bordesley in Birmingham has now replaced the Barkerend area of Bradford as the place [...]
Mortgage fraud increases by 23 per cent
Information services company Experian has reported a 23 per cent increase in the number of people giving false information in order to obtain a mortgage. In the second quarter of this year, 39 out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were found to be fraudulent, compared with 32 in the 2011 second quarter. Lenders have tightened [...]
Government to crack down on hidden credit card charges
Tougher rules are to be brought in to protect consumers from hidden credit card charges and premium-rate phone calls to customer service departments. The Government has launched a consultation on how to implement the changes, which are required under a European Consumer Rights Directive and will apply to countries across the European Union. The new [...]
Which? report claims free banking is a myth
A new report by consumer group Which? highlights the high charges that can be applied to ‘free’ current accounts. While these accounts are free while in credit, charges can be applied if a customer goes overdrawn, especially if they do so without permission. Customers can also be charged for overseas transactions and for agreed overdrafts. [...]
Households more optimistic about their finances
Household finances are still deteriorating, but at a slower rate, according to the Markit household finance index. The index increased from 37.5 in July to 38.9 in August, with figures above 50 representing a positive change in household finances, and figures below 50 representing a negative change. The August figure represents the third consecutive monthly [...]
Think tank calls for council housing sell off
The Policy Exchange, a leading UK think tank, is calling for expensive social housing to be sold as it becomes vacant. This could raise £4.5 billion a year and the money could be used to create the largest social house building programme since the 1970s, the think tank suggests in a new report. Between 80,000 [...]
Barclays appoints new chairman
Barclays has announced the appointment of Sir David Walker as its new chairman. He will take over from Marcus Agius who resigned from the role after Barclays was fined £290 million by regulators in the UK and US for manipulating Libor, the interbank lending rate. The appointment of Sir David, a respected and experienced banker, [...]
Post Office stepping up mortgage offering
The Post Office is expanding its mortgage service with the introduction of mortgage specialists in its branches. Mortgages have been available from the Post Office since 2009, but applications have had to be made online or over the phone. It currently offers mortgage with deposits as low as 10 per cent and plans to enhance [...]
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