The Bank of England (BoE) said it will “closely monitor” how the base rate reduction is passed on by banks and building societies as it unanimously voted to hold it at 0.1 per cent.
The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and the Prudential Regulation Committee will also keep an eye on the response of banks to recent measures.
In its meeting held on 25 March, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said it expected the spread of Covid-19 to result in a “very sharp reduction” in activity and predicted consumers would hold off on major purchases including property.
It also said it was probable that GDP would fall sharply in the first half of the year.
Inflation reached 1.7 per cent in February and the MPC said it would probably fall below one per cent in the spring, reflecting the pass-through to fuel prices of the recent and sharp decline in the oil price.
The bank said: “The nature of the economic shock from Covid-19 is very different from those to which the MPC has previously had to respond.
“The scale and duration of the shock to economic activity, while highly uncertain, will be large and sharp but should ultimately prove temporary, particularly if job losses and business failures can be minimised.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
