Thursday, September 09, 2010
BoE bank rate remains at record low
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%.
The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £200 billion.
The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 22 September.
Simon Gammon, head of Knight Frank Finance, says:
"Although a few voices are raising some concerns about inflationary risks, I do not expect the base rate to rise until the second quarter of next year, given the ongoing concerns about the economy." "Even then any increases will be gradual.
"It could, however, make sense to take advantage of the current opportunity to fix rates at favourable long-term rates before they increase. Five-year fixes are available at under 4% and so if you can afford it, you should consider fixing some or all of your mortgage at this rate.
"An increasing number of our clients are getting the best of both worlds by fixing half of their mortgages at a competitive rate, while continuing to take advantage of incredibly low variable rates.
"We are increasingly being asked to create more innovative products for our clients. There is no reason why a mortgage can't be tiered with various proportions of the debt fixed at different rates for different periods of time.
"One of the advantages of using Knight Frank Finance is that we can offer products unique to every borrower's individual situation and appetite for risk or desire for peace of mind."
The Committee also voted to maintain the stock of asset purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves at £200 billion.
The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 22 September.
Simon Gammon, head of Knight Frank Finance, says:
"Although a few voices are raising some concerns about inflationary risks, I do not expect the base rate to rise until the second quarter of next year, given the ongoing concerns about the economy." "Even then any increases will be gradual.
"It could, however, make sense to take advantage of the current opportunity to fix rates at favourable long-term rates before they increase. Five-year fixes are available at under 4% and so if you can afford it, you should consider fixing some or all of your mortgage at this rate.
"An increasing number of our clients are getting the best of both worlds by fixing half of their mortgages at a competitive rate, while continuing to take advantage of incredibly low variable rates.
"We are increasingly being asked to create more innovative products for our clients. There is no reason why a mortgage can't be tiered with various proportions of the debt fixed at different rates for different periods of time.
"One of the advantages of using Knight Frank Finance is that we can offer products unique to every borrower's individual situation and appetite for risk or desire for peace of mind."
DATED: 09.09.10
FEED: MI
