Bank of England Base Rate held at 0.5%

It was last held in September 2008 at 5%. Since then, there have been six months of falls, culminating in the current historic low.

In that time, it’s been misery for savers who, in some cases, have suffered from a dramatic drop in income. However, homeowners with mortgages linked to the base rate or their lender’s standard variable rate have generally seen their monthly payments plummet.

Dan Plant, savings analyst at MoneySavingExpert.com, says: “Today’s hold was expected. If you’ve got savings, it may be a good time to check your rate and see if you can beat it, as the six month-long volatile rate environment may be about to end, so now is a good time to compare.”