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Base rate held: how will it impact mortgage and savings rates?
Bank of England maintains the rate at 3.75% in April
Sam covers personal finance topics, from the best savings rates to the reasons mortgage lenders say no. He enjoys crunching the numbers to help consumers get ahead.
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The Bank of England has held the rate at 3.75%, despite rising inflation.
Its nine-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a large 8-1 majority in favour of holding the rate. One member voted to raise the rate to 4%.
But how will this decision impact falling mortgage rates, and did the MPC give any indication of what could happen to the base for the rest of 2026?
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.
Why has the Bank of England held the base rate?
Rising energy prices, driven by the war in the Middle East, have increased the risk of inflation in the UK. The latest inflation figures for March showed that inflation has risen to 3.3%, and the MPC recognised that this will rise higher as the impact of higher energy costs is passed on.
On the flip side, the MPC noted that the economic outlook following the conflict in the Middle East is weaker and 'could contain inflationary pressures'.
In addition, the committee expressed a preference for additional data on the economic impact of the conflict in the Middle East before potentially raising the base rate.
- Find out more: how the Middle East conflict will impact your finances.
Mortgage rates fall after a month of hikes
Conflict in the Middle East initially pushed mortgage rates higher. On 1 March, the average two-year fixed rate was 4.83% and the average five-year fix was 4.95%. On 1 April, those figures increased to 5.89% and 5.78%, respectively.
Rate hikes dented borrowers' hopes of finding a deal below 4%. On 1 March, there were 666 sub-4% mortgages available, including 404 two-year fixes and 174 five-year fixes. On 1 April, there were just 17 sub-4% deals, 16 trackers and a discounted variable rate.
Since mid-April, some lenders have started to cut rates, including Halifax, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander. Despite cuts, rates remain much higher than the best deals found in February.
The average two-year fix is now 5.81%, and the average five-year fix sits at 5.71%. The number of sub-4% mortgages has risen by a meagre three deals, all of which are variable-rate trackers. The lowest five-year fixed rate is now 4.64%, rising to 4.88% if your loan-to-value is above 80%.
Nicholas Mendes, of mortgage broker John Charcol, said: 'For mortgage borrowers, a hold doesn't automatically mean mortgage rates are about to fall. Fixed mortgage pricing is driven more by swap rates and lender funding expectations than by Bank Rate alone. If markets still believe rates may need to move higher later in the year, lenders are likely to remain cautious.
'We may still see selective cuts where individual lenders want to compete, or where funding costs ease for a period, but borrowers should be careful not to read that as a sustained downward trend.'
- Find out more: best mortgage rates and deals 2026.
What will happen to the base rate in 2026?
At the height of the conflict in the Middle East, some predictions pointed to three base rate increases. These have been revised down as tensions have cooled in the region.
Experts are now generally forecasting a level base rate for 2026. For example, Barclays Research and Lloyds Bank both expect no further increases to the base rate this year.
However, Pantheon Macroeconomics predicts one hike this year, in June, if oil flows remain disrupted in the Middle East.
What does this mean for savers?
One impact of the recent market turmoil is that returns from fixed-rate savings accounts are increasing. Since the beginning of March, the best one-year and five-year fixed rates have increased by roughly 0.4 percentage points.
If you have a variable-rate savings account, today’s decision means your rate will remain unchanged.
Here are the top accounts available right now.
- Find out more: best savings rates 2026.
| Instant access | Cahoot | 5% (a) | £1 | Internet | Monthly, yearly |
| One-year fixed rate | Kuwait Finance House (Raisin exclusive*) | 4.67% | £1,000 | Internet, mobile app | On maturity |
| Two-year fixed rate | RCI Bank UK | 4.68% | £1,000 | Internet | Monthly, yearly |
| Three-year fixed rate | RCI Bank UK (Raisin exclusive*) | 4.65% | £1,000 | Internet, mobile app | On maturity (compounded annually) |
| Four-year fixed rate | Thisbank | 4.57% | £100 | Internet, mobile app | Yearly |
| Five-year fixed rate | GB Bank | 4.7% | £1,000 | Internet | Monthly, yearly |
Table notes: rates sourced from Moneyfacts on 30 April 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. Deals marked 'Raisin exclusive' are available only through Raisin UK, a savings platform. (a) 5% AER on balances up to £3,000.
When is the next base rate decision?
The next MPC meeting is scheduled for Thursday 18 June.
The MPC will then have four further meetings in July, September, November and December.
This story is regularly updated after the latest base rate decision, with rate analysis and expert views. The last update was on 30 April 2026.
