Hopes shattered as banks fail to pass on interest rate rise

The Bank of England upped the base rate to 0.25% in December, but since then only a handful of savers have felt the benefit

The recent unexpected rise in interest rates could have been the good news that savers had waited so long for. But more than five weeks after the Bank of England increased rates, only four financial firms have passed on the full rise to all, or nearly all, of their variable-rate savings account customers.

The Bank decided on 16 December to lift the base rate from its historic low of 0.1% to 0.25%, prompting expectation it would be passed on.