BSA comments on Bank Rate announcement
Commenting on the decision by the Bank of England to keep the Bank Rate at 0.5%, Adrian Coles, Director-General of the BSA, said:
“The Bank’s decision is not unexpected. Whilst savers will be pleased that rates have not been cut any further, this will do nothing to help those who have seen the income they earn on their savings diminish sharply in recent months. Similarly, today’s decision shouldn’t worsen mortgage availability.
“Leaving Bank Rate on hold allows the impact on the wider economy of the recent rate cuts and the decision to start quantitative easing to be assessed. It will take some time before the effectiveness of these policies becomes more clear.”
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Notes to editors
1. The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents all 53 building societies in the United Kingdom. Building societies have total assets of £395 billion and, together with their subsidiaries, hold residential mortgages of £250 billion, more than 20% of the total outstanding in the UK. Societies hold over £235 billion of retail deposits, accounting for more than 20% of all such deposits in the UK. Building societies also account for about 37% of all cash ISA balances. Building societies employ over 51,500 full and part-time staff and operate through more than 2,000 branches.
2. Photographs of Adrian Coles are available from the BSA press office, from the Association’s website at www.bsa.org.uk or Headlinemoney www.headlinemoney.co.uk
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