Bank of England

The plastic fiver enters circulation today with the Bank of England promising the new note will be a stronger and more secure upgrade on its paper predecessor.

Mortgage lenders that have not yet passed on Bank of England (BoE) base rate savings to their customers could attract the attention of the regulator as it carries out a study into mortgage competition.

High street bank TSB i s reviewing the 5% rate it pays out to savers on its best-buy Classic Plus account, MoneySavingExpert.com understands.

The Bank of England has cut the base rate for the first time in more than seven years, reducing it from 0.5% to a new historic low of 0.25%.

Interest rates on two different Santander products have been cut this week as customers continue to wonder whether the bank is preparing to reduce the headline rate on its flagship 123 current account from 3% to 2%.

The prospect of banks charging personal customers for holding their savings remains unlikely, despite a warning by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest to business and commercial customers that negative interest rates could become reality.

The Bank of England today kept the base rate at 0.5% – despite widespread predictions that it would cut the rate for the first time in more than seven years.

Over 10 million Barclaycard credit card customers will have their interest rates linked to the Bank of England base rate from February next year, while the same is also happening for some Lloyds Banking Group customers.

Interest rates may not rise until 2017 the Bank of England has suggested this month, but mortgage borrowers should still consider switching to a cheaper deal now, with rates near all-time lows.