CML comments on rate change

Michael Coogan, CML Director General, commented on today’s rise in interest rates from 5.25% to 5.5%:

“This rate change was a certainty even before it happened.  But there is every prospect that inflation will be brought back under control more quickly than the pessimists expect. With four out of five recent borrowers choosing fixed-rate mortgages, the effect of the change will be dampened to some extent – although around half of those with a mortgage are on a variable rate and will see their payments change. But borrowers must expect rates to remain at or around their current levels for the foreseeable future and plan their finances on that basis.”