Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-10-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to encourage banks to reduce interest rates inline with base rate reductions.

Simon Kirby

Alongside the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to cut Bank Rate to 0.25%, the Chancellor on 4 August authorised the introduction of a new Term Funding Scheme.

The Term Funding Scheme will lend central bank reserves to banks and building societies for an extended period at rates close to Bank Rate, in order to ensure the low level of Bank Rate is passed onto borrowing rates faced by households and businesses.