Bank of England Bank Rate

Source: Bank of England, series IUDBEDR. Eight scheduled MPC announcements a year, Thursdays at 12 noon; next announcement 5 November 2026

Bank of England Bank Rate: every value, by year, with a CSV download →

What it measures

Bank Rate, often called the base rate, is the interest rate the Bank of England pays on reserves that commercial banks hold with it. It is set by the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), whose job is to meet the Government's 2% CPI inflation target. Changes in Bank Rate pass through to the rates banks and building societies charge on loans and mortgages and pay on savings, though not always fully or immediately. The figure on this page comes from the Bank's daily series IUDBEDR. See Bank Rate in the glossary.

How to read it

Bank Rate changes only at MPC decisions, so the line is a staircase: flat between decisions, then a step up or down. Most changes are 0.25 percentage points. A decision to hold is still a decision, and the published minutes show how each of the nine MPC members voted. Bank Rate is not the rate on a typical mortgage: fixed-rate deals are priced mainly from market expectations of future rates, so they can move before Bank Rate does. For average mortgage and savings rates use the Bank's effective interest rate statistics in its database. The rate shown is never revised; the date of each change is fixed in the Bank's history table.

Background

The Bank of England was founded in 1694. Its online Bank Rate table lists every change since January 1975, and the daily series IUDBEDR can be downloaded from the same database. The MPC was created when the Bank was given operational independence over interest rates in May 1997, a role confirmed by the Bank of England Act 1998. The Bank's records show Bank Rate cut to 0.1% on 19 March 2020, its lowest level, and raised in steps from December 2021 to 5.25% on 3 August 2023. The Bank's history table shows the most recent change to 3.75% on 18 December 2025.

When is the next Bank of England interest rate decision?

The Bank publishes its Monetary Policy Committee announcement dates well in advance. There are eight a year, announced at 12 noon on a Thursday, and four coincide with the quarterly Monetary Policy Report. When this page was checked on 13 October 2026, the next scheduled announcement was 5 November 2026. Check the Bank's MPC dates page for the full calendar.

Is the base rate the same as Bank Rate?

Yes. Bank Rate is the Bank of England's official name; "base rate" and "interest rate" are the common names used in news reports and by lenders. Some lenders also have their own "standard variable rate" or "base rate", which they set themselves and which is not the same as the Bank of England's rate.

How do I see how each MPC member voted?

Each decision is published with a Monetary Policy Summary and minutes that give the vote, for example 7 to 2, and name the members who voted for a different rate. The Bank's interest rate page links to the latest decision, and earlier minutes are archived on the Bank's website alongside each Monetary Policy Report.

Related questions

• What is the Bank of England base rate today?
• How often are UK interest rates reviewed?
• Where can I find average UK mortgage rates?
• How do I use the Bank of England statistical database?

More on this source: Bank of England Statistical Interactive Database