Base Rate held - Afin Bank Comment

30 April 2026

Following today's Base Rate announcement by the Bank of England, Charles Resnick, Chief Finance Officer at Afin Bank, commented:

“The Bank of England has held the Base Rate at 3.75% and the possibility of cuts to the interest rate has been pushed further out. The near-term outlook remains uncertain and the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will need to assess the impact of the energy price shock on inflation.

“In its March meeting, held just after the start of the war in the Middle East, the MPC voted unanimously to hold rates, replacing previous thoughts of a cut to the Base Rate. Growth remains weak, even if near-term data have been a little firmer than expected, as labour market conditions soften and pay growth cools, resulting in slack in the economy continuing to build.

“For borrowers it’s not necessarily all bad news as lenders are likely to stay cautious, with higher swap rates and policy uncertainty keeping pricing disciplined.”

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