Rate-lag data is being collected following Bank of England base-rate changes — check back soon.
Rate-lag data is being collected.
This tracker activates within 60 days of a Bank of England base-rate change. Check back after the next MPC decision.
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Rate lag is the number of days between a Bank of England base-rate change and when a bank adjusts its own savings or mortgage rates. A shorter lag means the bank passes on changes to customers more quickly. FCA guidance requires banks to pass on rate cuts promptly, but there is no statutory deadline for passing on increases.
Banks profit from the spread between what they pay savers and what they charge borrowers. After a base-rate rise, delaying a savings rate increase improves their net interest margin. Competition, brand positioning, and regulatory scrutiny all influence how quickly a bank acts. Banks with large, sticky easy-access deposit bases often lag longer.
Yes. If the base rate rises by 0.25% and your bank waits 30 days to pass it on, you miss out on roughly 0.02% of your balance for that month — that is £2 on every £10,000 held. Over multiple rate changes and larger balances, cumulative lag can cost hundreds of pounds. Switching to a faster-responding bank or using a rate alert recovers this.
Pass-through percentage measures how much of a base-rate change a bank actually passes on to savers. A 100% pass-through on a 0.25% base-rate rise means the bank raised its savings rate by exactly 0.25%. A 50% pass-through means savers only received half the benefit. Banks often pass on rate rises incompletely while passing on cuts in full.
Also see: FCA bank complaints data · All banks