Knowledge Guide to Base Rates

The base rate is a rate set by the banks to price loans, and also reflects the state of the market. It is most commonly encountered when looking into loans including mortgages, and many building societies/banks offer base rate tracking mortgages. The figure represents the minimum rate of interest possible on a loan.

Bank base rates are available in a number of print volumes and web based services. In this knowledge guide we aim to guide you to the best sources on the net and in the Library. All the print sources mentioned here are available in the library and staff can consult them on your behalf.

Looking for the official rate?

The base rate is the rate at which the Bank of England lends to other financial institutions and is set by the Monetary Policy Committee in response to economic conditions. The retail banks usually follow this lead, although they have the freedom not to.

In modern times, the Minimum Lending Rate set by the Bank of England ended on 20th August 1981. Following this, rates were set by the government through the Bank of England. Responsibility for setting the base rate since 1997 rests solely with the Bank of England.

In using any base rate data it is important to be aware that different sources are used to compile these figures. In some instances the base rate data is taken from just one bank, and in other cases it is a compilation (one indicator that multiple banks have been used is that where the banks did not change rates on the same day a spread is shown, eg 5-5.25). In describing the information available we have tried to indicate the source(s) used at the time of writing.

Bank Base Rates - UK

• Print Sources
• Historical Sources
• Web Sources

Interbank Rates

• LIBOR Rates
• EURIBOR Rates
• JBA TIBOR Rates

REPO Rates

• REPO Rates
• EUREPO Rates

US Interest Rates

• The Discount Rate

The Library provides a high quality information service for official statistics, including bank base rates, using a number of key print sources - by phone, post, fax, e-mail and in person. For further details of the services we can provide, please take a look at our page.

Print Sources

Financial Statistics

Financial Statistics is a monthly publication from National Statistics and contains two tables with base rate data:

• 7.1J The table for Selected Retail Banks Interest Rates lists Base Rates (percent per annum). Figures given are changes at the close of day, and the source is listed as the Bank of England (the separate explanatory handbook reveals that the data comes from Barclays, Lloyds/TSB, HSBC and NatWest). Current issues list figures back to 1985, with older editions listing figures back to January 22nd 1982.
• 7.1K Finance House Base Rates (source given as the Finance & Leasing Association). The date range of this table in all editions we have is for January 1st 1982 to present.

The Library holds stocks for one year and the current year - plus the January issue of each year since 1993. You can also access online editions of Financial Statistics from the National Statistics website for June 2006 onwards.

Moneyfacts

The monthly journal Moneyfacts gives a selection of bank base rates, including:

• Bank base rates from 18th August 1982 to the present, with Barclays as the only bank that rates were sourced from.
• Current Bank Base Rates (for 18 banks) giving current rates for individual banks alongside the rate that had been applicable prior to this (as well as the week both sets of rates were effective from)
• Finance House Bank Rates (monthly percentages from January 1988 to the present)

Our holdings of Moneyfacts cover 2007 onwards.

Accountancy Magazine

Accountancy magazine publishes a Data Briefing each month that includes a table of Bank Base Rates going back two and a half years approximately. The source for this table was listed as the NatWest Bank until December 2007 and as the Bank of England from January 2008 onwards. Accountancy magazine is available in print, and in a browsable form on the internet at the Accountancy Online website.

Historical Sources

The Tax Factbook (GEE)

Bank Base Rates are listed in The Tax Factbook, the looseleaf service from GEE, which is updated five times a year. Table 7:10.2 lists the rates for 24th August 1939 to the present.

The Abstract of British Historical Statistics

The Abstract of British Historical Statistics number 17, produced by Cambridge University Press provides a table of historic rates, entitled Changes in Bank Rate 1797-1939. The figures begin in 1797 and end with the rate for 26th October 1939. A footnote states that the figures have been reproduced with the permission of the Bank of England.

British Economy Key Statistics 1900-1970

The British Economy Key Statistics 1900-1970 maintains a list of the annual ranges of bank rates for 1900 to 1970 - listing a highest and lowest percent change in separate columns. The statistics are drawn from the Times Newspaper.

Web Sources

Bank and Building Society Websites

Most banks and building society websites have details of the the current bank base rate, usually with information on how it impacts on mortgages and other financial products they offer.

Some UK retail banks publish online archives of the interest rates used at their respective banks in addition to the base rate set by the Bank of England. One example of this is the Royal Bank of Scotland's Databank database. Further listings of the websites for UK Banks and Building Societies can be found from the British Bankers' Association and Building Societies Association websites.

Bank of England

The Monetary & Financial Statistics Division of the Bank of England produce a Base Rate History that gives details of historic changes in bank base rates (listing new rates and the date they are effective from) including:

• Changes in Bank Rate (5th March 1970-), Minimum Lending Rate (16th October 1972-), Minimum Band 1 Dealing Rate (25th August 1981-) and Repo Rate (6th May 1997-)
• Changes in selected Retail Banks Base Rates (9th Jun 1972 to the present) which utilises figures collated from Barclays, Lloyds/TSB, HSBC and NatWest.
• Changes in bank base rate, minimum lending rate, minimum band 1 dealing rate, repo rate and official bank rate (1694 to the present day)

Money Extra

One particularly useful source of Bank Base rates comes from the team at Money Extra, who have provided a UK Base Rate History page, listing the UK Base Rates for a 10 year period from 1st June 1989 to 12th January 2001. Alongside these figures they have given details of mortgage rates and credit card rates for comparison.

Interbank Rates

LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate)

'The BBA LIBOR is the most widely used benchmark or reference rate for short term interest rates. LIBOR stands for the London Interbank Offered Rate and is the rate of interest at which banks borrow funds from other banks, in marketable size, in the London interbank market.' (British Bankers' Association)

Six months of historical LIBOR rates (subject to a two month delay) can be found on the British Bankers' Association's dedicated BBA LIBOR website. Access to historical LIBOR rates (back to 1986) and current LIBOR rates are available under license. The website also provides a range of useful supporting documentation including official definitions, an explanation of the LIBOR system, FAQ and LIBOR news releases.

The BBA website includes a list of the banks which make up the contributor panel for the Sterling LIBOR rate - the data is collected by a company on behalf of the BBA and undergoes a fixing process before the LIBOR rate is released before midday in London. The individual contributor rates from each bank that make up the panel may be available through subscription based services such as Bloomberg.

Alternative sources

The monthly journal Moneyfacts provides figures for 'LIBOR - 3 month interbank' (closing rate on last day of month) for the current year and the previous five years.

The National Statistics publication Financial Statistics provides quarterly figures for the 3 month Sterling Interbank rate for the last 10 years (see Table 7.1O Average money rates and yields).

The Bank of England Statistical Interactive Database - interest & exchange rates data provides end month and quarterly figures for the 3 month Sterling Interbank rate (mean LIBID/LIBOR) from the late 1970s to date.

EURIBOR (Euro Interbank Offered Rate)

The Euribor is co-sponsored by the European Banking Federation (FBE) and the Financial Markets Association (ACI). The Euribor is cited by the FBE as 'the benchmark rate for euro money market transactions' and is the rate at which 'euro interbank term deposits within the euro zone are offered by one prime bank to another prime bank' (Euribor website). The Euribor website includes archived historic rates back to 1998.

The website also includes information and historical data for the EONIA (Euro Overnight Index Average) which the FBE states 'is the effective overnight reference rate for the euro. It is computed as a weighted average of all overnight unsecured lending transactions undertaken in the interbank market, initiated within the euro area by the contributing banks.'

JBA TIBOR (Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate)

The Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate is sponsored by the Japanese Bankers' Association. Information about the TIBOR, the contributing banks and an archive of historic rates are available from the TIBOR section of the Japanese Bankers' Association website.

REPO Rates

REPO Rates

'Repurchase agreements (repos) are collateralised lending transactions. One party agrees to sell securities (e.g. gilts) to the other against a transfer of funds. At the same time the parties agree to repurchase the same or equivalent securities at a specific price in the future.' (British Bankers' Association)

The British Bankers' Association website includes general information on REPO rates as well as listings of Daily REPO rates and Historic REPO rates.

EUREPO Rates

The Eurepo is the rate used by the Euro repo market (replacing the BBA euro repo benchmark) and is supported by the European Banking Federation (FBE) and the European Repo Council (ERC). The Eurepo website describes the Eurepo as 'the reference rate for a unified Euro GC Repo Market. It is the rate at which one prime bank offers funds in euro to another prime bank if in exchange the former receives from the latter Eurepo GC as collateral'. An archive of historic data from 2002 onwards is available on the Eurepo website.

Other useful sources

Financial Times
The Financial Times publishes a daily table headed 'Interest Rates' with a selection of European and US rates, ranging from European LIBOR rates to US Repo Rates. An online archive of the Official Interest Rates table for September 27th 2007 to date can be found on the Financial Times website. The Library & Information Service also holds a run of the Financial Times on microfilm prior to this date.

Wholesale Markets Brokers' Association
The Wholesale Markets Brokers' Association provides current and historical data for the EURONIA (Euro Overnight Index Average) and SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average), along with a guide to SONIA/EURONIA and overnight indexed swaps.

Contact the LIS Enquiry Team

If you would like to find out more about the information available from the Library and Information Service, or check the print sources we hold, please get in touch with us:

Telephone: 020 7920 8620
24 hour answerphone: 020 7920 8622
Fax: 020 7920 8621
email: library@icaew.com

Post:
Library & Information Service
Chartered Accountants' Hall
PO Box 433
Moorgate Place
London EC2P 2BJ

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information given in this Knowledge Guide is correct. However, the content of sites changes frequently and members should satisfy themselves that the information they contain is suitable for the purposes they wish to use it for. We would be grateful to receive notification of any links that do not work at the library email address above.