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What's happening to the base rate?
Bank of England maintains the rate at 3.75% in February – is now the time to remortgage?
If you click on the link and complete a mortgage with L&C Mortgages, L&C is paid a commission by the lender and will share part of this fee with Which? Ltd helping fund our not-for-profit mission. We do not allow this relationship to affect our editorial independence. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
The Bank of England has decided to maintain the base rate at 3.75%.
Its nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a narrow 5-4 majority in favour of holding the rate. Four members voted to cut the rate to 3.5%.
Read on to find out what the decision means for you – whether you're buying a home, are due to remortgage or are trying to get the best return on your savings.
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Why has the Bank of England maintained the base rate?
At the MPC's last meeting in December, it cautioned that the risk of inflation remaining elevated over the medium term had not disappeared. Consequently, it was always very unlikely that the base rate would be cut at two consecutive meetings.
The medium-term risk of inflation was evidenced by the latest inflation figures from December, which showed inflation had increased by 0.2 percentage points to 3.4%. This increase was higher than many economists expected.
At its latest meeting, the MPC recognised that the risk of inflation is falling, but wanted to see further evidence before cutting the base rate.
It was surprising that four out of the nine members of the MPC voted to cut the base rate to 3.5%, when commentators widely expected the base rate to be held. This will increase expectations of a base rate cut at its next meeting in March.
Looking further ahead into 2026, the MPC reported that 'On the basis of the current evidence, Bank Rate [base rate] is likely to be reduced further. Judgements around further policy easing will become a closer call.'
The MPC stated that the inflation outlook will inform when further base rate cuts materialise.
If you're currently on a standard variable-rate mortgage, your rate won't change. Tracker mortgages, which are linked to the base rate, will also remain steady.
But for homeowners looking to remortgage soon, today's decision will be unwelcome news, as mortgage rates are unlikely to shift dramatically.
Nicholas Mendes, of mortgage broker John Charcol, said: 'In practical terms, a hold is unlikely to prompt an immediate repricing of mortgages.
'Fixed rates are driven by swap markets and lender funding costs, not the base rate decision in isolation. When an outcome is widely expected, most of the adjustment tends to happen beforehand.'
Our table shows the current top rates for two-year fixed-rate remortgaging deals across a range of LTV bands.
Two-year fixed-rate
60%
Monmouthshire Building Society
N/A
3.60%
£499
Two-year fixed-rate
60% fee free
AIB (NI)
N/A
3.88%
£0
Two-year fixed-rate
75%
Monmouthshire Building Society
N/A
3.70%
£499
Two-year fixed-rate
75% fee free
Clydesdale Bank
74%
3.99%
£0
Two-year fixed-rate
85%
AIB (NI)
N/A
4.39%
£0
Two-year fixed-rate
85% fee free
AIB (NI)
N/A
4.39%
£0
Two-year fixed-rate
90%
Furness Building Society
N/A
3.97%
£999
Two-year fixed-rate
90% fee free
AIB (NI)
N/A
4.20%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
60%
NatWest
73%
3.73%
£995
Five-year fixed-rate
60% fee free
First Direct
73%
3.89%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
75%
Santander
73%
3.84%
£1999
Five-year fixed-rate
75% fee free
First Direct
73%
4%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
85%
HSBC
73%
3.99%
£999
Five-year fixed-rate
85% fee free
Clydesdale Bank
74%
4.07%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
90%
HSBC
73%
4.14%
£999
Five-year fixed-rate
90% fee free
AIB (NI)
N/A
4.29%
£0
Data from Moneyfacts. Collected on 5 February.Customer scores are based on a survey of 5,016 members of the public in August-September 2025 and combine overall satisfaction with likelihood to recommend the provider. See our methodology and brand sample sizes here. The average customer score is 74%. To become a Which? Recommended Provider a lender must get a top customer score, consistently offer competitive deals and be fully covered by the Financial Conduct Authority banking standards regime. 'Revert rate' is the standard variable rate (SVR), which is the mortgage rate you'd be transferred onto when your deal ended if it remained unchanged between now and then.
What this means for home-movers and first-time buyers
If you're planning to up sticks this year or purchase your first property, rates aren't expected to fall dramatically in 2026.
Rates should continue to slowly fall for these groups, but may ever so slightly increase at points during the year if lending becomes more expensive for providers. We have seen this in early February, with small rate increases by major lenders.
The table shows the current top rates for five-year fixed-rate mortgages for home-movers.
Two-year fixed-rate
60%
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.45%
£999
Two-year fixed-rate
60% fee free
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.62%
£0
Two-year fixed-rate
75%
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.50%
£999
Two-year fixed-rate
75% fee free
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.71%
£0
Two-year fixed-rate
85%
Danske Bank
N/A
3.61%
£999
Two-year fixed-rate
85% fee free
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.82%
£0
Two-year fixed-rate
90%
Danske Bank
N/A
3.78%
£999
Two-year fixed-rate
90% fee free
Danske Bank
N/A
3.97%
£0
Two-year fixed-rate
95%
Danske Bank
N/A
4.20%
£999
Two-year fixed-rate
95% fee free
AIB (NI)
N/A
4.39%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
60%
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.67%
£999
Five-year fixed-rate
60% fee free
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.78%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
75%
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.73%
£999
Five-year fixed-rate
75% fee free
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.81%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
85%
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.89%
£999
Five-year fixed-rate
85% fee free
Lloyds Bank
74%
3.97%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
90%
Danske Bank
N/A
4.09%
£999
Five-year fixed-rate
90% fee free
Danske Bank
N/A
4.12%
£0
Five-year fixed-rate
95%
Danske Bank
N/A
4.43%
£999
Five-year fixed-rate
95% fee free
AIB (NI)
N/A
4.49%
£0
Data from Moneyfacts. Collected on 5 February.Customer scores are based on a survey of 5,016 members of the public in August-September 2025 and combine overall satisfaction with likelihood to recommend the provider. See our methodology and brand sample sizes here. The average customer score is 74%. To become a Which? Recommended Provider a lender must get a top customer score, consistently offer competitive deals and be fully covered by the Financial Conduct Authority banking standards regime. 'Revert rate' is the standard variable rate (SVR), which is the mortgage rate you'd be transferred onto when your deal ended if it remained unchanged between now and then.
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If you click on the link and complete a mortgage with L&C Mortgages, L&C is paid a commission by the lender and will share part of this fee with Which? Ltd helping fund our not-for-profit mission. We do not allow this relationship to affect our editorial independence. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
What does this mean for savers?
Despite today’s announcement, savers are still likely to see fixed rates fall, as base rate cuts are still expected this year. Over the past month, the best one-year fixed-rate savings account has dropped by around 0.1 percentage points.
If you have a variable-rate savings account, today’s decision means your rate will likely remain unchanged.
Table notes: rates sourced from Moneyfacts on 5 February 2026. Provider customer score is based on savers' overall satisfaction with the brand and how likely they are to recommend it to others. n/a means sample size was too small for us to generate a provider score (a) 5% AER on balances up to £3,000
Compare savings accounts
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When is the next base rate decision?
The next MPC meeting is scheduled for Thursday 18 March.
The MPC will then have six further meetings in April, June, July, September, November and December.
Experts forecast that the Bank of England will cut the base rate again in March, but this could change if the rate of inflation continues to rise.
Expectations vary as we move further into 2026. Some expect the base rate to be held for the rest of the year after a cut in March. Others predict another reduction later in the year.
This story is regularly updated after the latest base rate decision, with rate analysis and expert views. The last update was on 5 February 2026.
