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How will the change to the Base Rate affect my savings account

3 September 2018

The recent announcement
On 2 August 2018 the Bank of England announced an increase in the Bank of England Base Rate from 0.50% to 0.75%.

Changes to our interest rate
View the changes to our rates (PDF)

What is the base rate?
The base rate, also known as the Bank Rate, affects the interest rates offered by Banks, Building Societies and other financial institutions. It is set by the Bank of England, which regularly reviews it and can increase or decrease at any time.

How can a Base Rate change affect your account?
The Base Rate is one of a number of things we look at when reviewing the interest rates of our savings accounts. How your interest rate is affected by a Base Rate change depends on whether it’s a fixed or variable account. If you’re unsure what type of account you have, you can check your terms and conditions.

Accounts with a fixed rate
Your account will not be affected.

Accounts with a variable rate
Your interest rate could change.

Whenever the Base Rate changes, we review the interest rates of our variable accounts and could decide to change them. If we decide to lower your rate, we will write to you to let you know. We will not write to you if we increase your rate.

If your account tracks the Bank Rate, your rate will change on the first working day of the month.

How to check what your rate is

You can view all rates for accounts we offer on our interest rate pages or by signing into online banking and selecting your account.

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FSCS – protecting your money. Find out more here.

Gross rate means that we will not deduct tax automatically from your interest. You are responsible for paying any tax due to HM Revenue and Customs.

AER means Annual Equivalent Rate. AER illustrates what your interest rate would be if interest was paid and compounded each year and allows you to easily compare different offers.

Tax free is the contractual rate of interest payable where interest is exempt from income tax.

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Birmingham Midshires is a division of Bank of Scotland plc which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628. Registered office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000.
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