Interest rates could rise in the “relatively near term” says the Governor of the Bank of England
Last week, in the clearest indication yet that there could be a rate rise as early as November, Mark Carney suggested that it was time for the bank to “ease its foot off the accelerator”.
The next opportunity for a change in interest rates is the Bank’s monetary policy committee meeting on 2 November. The governor also warned against “reckless” household borrowing.
He said that while overall lending to UK consumers had come down markedly since the financial crisis, there was a danger from rapid “frothy” growth in some areas of household borrowing.
“What we’re worried about is a pocket of risk – a risk in consumer debt, credit card debt, debt for cars, personal loans,” said Mr Carney
He said banks had “not been as disciplined as they should be” in their underwriting standards and pricing of this debt.
Pressed on when the Bank was likely to raise interest rates, a move that would make borrowing more expensive, Mr Carney confirmed the latest analysis from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee. “If the economy continues on the track that it’s been on, and all indications are that it is, in the relatively near term we can expect that interest rates will increase,” he said.
To find out what the impact of an interest rate rise would be on Norfolk and the East of England, join the Agent for the South East and East Anglia, Phil Eckersley at a Chamber lunch on Wednesday 18 October. For more information and to book you place click here.
