The nine-member committee has kept Bank Rate at 3.75% since the final cut of the easing cycle in late 2025, and most analysts expected no change at this month’s meeting. Around eight in 10 brokers surveyed by Mortgage Introducer had also forecast a hold.
“Holding the base rate at 3.75% is the right call,” commented Joshua Elash (pictured right), founding director of specialist lender MT Finance. “Last week’s fall in inflation was a welcome surprise and Andy Burnham and John Healey should be given time to start implementing their economic vision before the Monetary Policy Committee makes any changes.
“The combination of a static base rate and lower inflation should help to inspire confidence among both lenders and borrowers.”
For Nicholas Mendes (pictured right), mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, the vote split showed a growing minority in favour of an immediate rise to 4%, a signal that patience within the MPC is thinning even as headline inflation improves.
“For mortgage borrowers, the hold does not mean cheaper fixed rates are on the way,” he said. “Two- and five-year swap rates, which lenders use to price fixed rate mortgages, both rose by around 0.22 to 0.23 of a percentage point over the past month as lenders including Halifax, HSBC and Coventry Building Society repriced in response to the renewed Middle East escalation.