Following the Bank of England decision to hold interest rates, Giles Hutson, CEO of Insignis Cash Solutions, comments on the risks of the continued low rate environment:
“Today’s decision to maintain interest rates has been driven by a combination of continued uncertainty around Brexit negotiations, weaker first quarter GDP figures and the end of the Term Funding Scheme (TFS) , which has removed some of the excess liquidity from the market.
“While we believe that the Bank of England should take every opportunity availability to normalise rates and restock its armoury for the next financial shock, we accept that the recent GDP data made that impossible at this meeting.
“The unfortunate side effect of rates staying this low is in reinforcing the false notion that a low rate climate in the UK could last forever, with unintended consequences for people’s long term financial planning. Individuals and families will continue to factor low rates into their plans and may take on debt at the level they can afford now, rather than thinking forward to a higher rate environment, which inevitably has to come.
“The advantages of a low rate environment can’t last forever, and savers’ cash deposit returns continue to suffer. The one rate rise last November alone hasn’t been enough to help savers. We need the central bank to hike again as soon as appropriate and to see increased competition in the banking market. This will also help overcome the inertia that holds savers back from managing their cash more actively.”