UK monetary policy
Current Bank Rate
3.75%
Effective from 18 December 2025 — a cut of 0.25 percentage points from 4%.
Source: Bank of England · updated automatically
The base rate — officially Bank Rate— is the interest rate the Bank of England pays commercial banks on the reserves they hold with it, and charges them to borrow. Because every high-street bank can earn or pay that rate at the Bank, it becomes the anchor from which nearly every other rate in the UK is priced: mortgages, savings accounts, business loans and credit cards are all quoted as “base rate plus a margin”.
It's set by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), nine economists who meet eight times a year and vote on whether to raise, hold or cut. Their remit is to keep inflation at the government's 2% target: raising the rate cools an overheating economy, cutting it stimulates a weak one.
| Date effective | Bank Rate | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 18 December 2025 | 3.75% | -0.25 |
| 7 August 2025 | 4% | -0.25 |
| 8 May 2025 | 4.25% | -0.25 |
| 6 February 2025 | 4.5% | -0.25 |
| 7 November 2024 | 4.75% | -0.25 |
| 1 August 2024 | 5% | -0.25 |
| 3 August 2023 | 5.25% | +0.25 |
| 22 June 2023 | 5% | +0.5 |
| 11 May 2023 | 4.5% | +0.25 |
| 23 March 2023 | 4.25% | +0.25 |
| 2 February 2023 | 4% | +0.5 |
| 15 December 2022 | 3.5% | +0.5 |
Showing the 12 most recent changes of 258 on record, going back to 20 January 1975.
This page reports the rate. These lessons explain the mechanism — why it moves, and how it reaches your mortgage and your portfolio.
The rate shown is the official Bank Rate published by the Bank of England, updated automatically. We report what the rate is— we don't forecast where it's going, and nothing here is financial advice. For decisions about your mortgage, savings or investments, consider professional advice.