Was raising rates again the right move or is the Bank of England panicking? This is the Money podcast
The 0.5 per cent bumper raise by the Bank of England this week was the 13th increase in a row.
After more than a decade of sitting on their hands, rate-makers have been shaken awake by an inflation storm.
By historical standards, 5 percent isn’t high for interest rates, but unfortunately for borrowers, we also started from an all-time low, going from 0.1 percent in just 18 months.
The belated rush to raise rates is also the exact opposite of what the Bank of England assured homeowners would for years: the party line used to be ‘gradual and limited’.
The Bank is raising rates to try and quell inflation, but at the same time this is affecting a much smaller proportion of homeowners than ever before and the rapid rise in mortgage payments is crushing a generation of homeowners.
So, was another rate hike a wise move?
How bad is the pain for borrowers?
Isn’t this an 80s patch, or just as bad?
Has the Bank of England even given its rate hikes long enough to take effect?
On this special rate hike podcast, Georgie Frost, Lee Boyce and Simon Lambert tackle all that and more.