The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has yet again voted to keep the bank rate at 0.5% and to maintain quantitative easing at its current level.
“You might have better luck picking the winner of the Grand National than you would predicting when interest rates might change,” said Calum Bennie, savings spokesperson at Scottish Friendly.
“The Governor of the Bank of England originally said last year it would be sooner rather than later. More recent speculation was that the first interest rate rise might come into effect this summer on the assumption that UK growth would continue over the first part of the year. However, the Bank of England seems content to hunker down and sit on interest rates even if growth does continue, possibly until later this year or even early 2016.
“This means that barring an unexpected pick-up in inflationary pressures, it is very possible that we will see this rate remain at its all-time low for close to six years. In a highly competitive mortgage market where lenders are in a game of one-upmanship on rates, this is great news for consumers. For savers though, the battle to find solid returns on their money continues.
“Last year some high street banks paid as little as 0.1% on cash ISAs. Do savers really want to go through another year of such dismal returns? If rates are to remain low for the foreseeable future then savers may want to find an alternative. Investing tax free in stocks and shares ISAs is one such option. It’s more risky of course and has to be seen as a long term investment but it does offer growth potential, although the original investment is not guaranteed.”