Afin Bank Base Rate Comment

05 November 2026

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

“After a period of wait and see, the Bank of England finally increased the Base Rate today, the first change in almost a year and the first upwards movement since August 2023. It wasn’t a massive surprise for the markets and mortgage lenders, many of who had already priced the expected hike into higher fixed rates over the last week or so.

“While many of the fundamentals have remained consistent over the last few months, such as higher energy prices driven by conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, along with the rising cost of Government borrowing, it’s clear the MPC is now concerned that these pressures will feed into wages, prices at the till and inflation expectations. Higher interest rates should dampen demand – not an ideal scenario for retailers in the run-up to Christmas.

“This is also not good news for borrowers on tracker mortgages or SVRs, but it could also be tough for customers coming off an existing fixed deal over the next few months as fixed rates have hit a three year high, probably making their new monthly payments more expensive.

“It’ll be interesting to see the notes from today’s MPC meeting to get an indication of what the Bank of England feels the future direction might be. The hope is that the economic picture settles down, or at least remains stable, and mortgage rates follow suit.”