This tool allows you to make side-by-side comparisons of changes to the Bank Rate and the target for the overnight rate over time. You can also determine when the rate was last at a specified level, or changed by a specified amount.
Displaying key policy rates from 2008-01-01 — 2022-10-31
Values in red are the key policy rate at that date.
As explained in A History of the Key Interest Rate, the Bank has had two distinct "key interest rates" over the years: the Bank Rate, and then the target for the overnight rate.
It was in a press release on 29 May 2001 that the Bank first publicly described the target for the overnight rate as its "key" policy rate. This is the date on which the target for the overnight rate effectively replaced the Bank Rate.
This tool shows the two rates side by side, indicating in red which was the key interest rate on a particular date.
| Date | Bank rate | Change | Target for the overnight rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-01-22 | 4.25 | -0.25 | 4.00 | -0.25 |
| 2008-03-04 | 3.75 | -0.50 | 3.50 | -0.50 |
| 2008-04-22 | 3.25 | -0.50 | 3.00 | -0.50 |
| 2008-10-08 | 2.75 | -0.50 | 2.50 | -0.50 |
| 2008-10-21 | 2.50 | -0.25 | 2.25 | -0.25 |
| 2008-12-09 | 1.75 | -0.75 | 1.50 | -0.75 |
| 2009-01-20 | 1.25 | -0.50 | 1.00 | -0.50 |
| 2009-03-03 | 0.75 | -0.50 | 0.50 | -0.50 |
| 2009-04-21 | 0.50 | -0.25 | 0.25 | -0.25 |
| 2010-06-01 | 0.75 | 0.25 | 0.50 | 0.25 |
| 2010-07-20 | 1.00 | 0.25 | 0.75 | 0.25 |
| 2010-09-08 | 1.25 | 0.25 | 1.00 | 0.25 |
| 2015-01-21 | 1.00 | -0.25 | 0.75 | -0.25 |
| 2015-07-15 | 0.75 | -0.25 | 0.50 | -0.25 |
| 2017-07-12 | 1.00 | 0.25 | 0.75 | 0.25 |
| 2017-09-06 | 1.25 | 0.25 | 1.00 | 0.25 |
| 2018-01-17 | 1.50 | 0.25 | 1.25 | 0.25 |
| 2018-07-11 | 1.75 | 0.25 | 1.50 | 0.25 |
| 2018-10-24 | 2.00 | 0.25 | 1.75 | 0.25 |
| 2020-03-04 | 1.50 | -0.50 | 1.25 | -0.50 |
| 2020-03-16 | 1.00 | -0.50 | 0.75 | -0.50 |
| 2020-03-27 | 0.50 | -0.50 | 0.25 | -0.50 |
| 2022-03-03 | 0.75 | 0.25 | 0.50 | 0.25 |
| 2022-04-14 | 1.25 | 0.50 | 1.00 | 0.50 |
| 2022-06-02 | 1.75 | 0.50 | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| 2022-07-14 | 2.75 | 1.00 | 2.50 | 1.00 |
| 2022-09-08 | 3.50 | 0.75 | 3.25 | 0.75 |
| 2022-10-27 | 4.00 | 0.50 | 3.75 | 0.50 |
More information
A history of the key interest rate
About the key interest rate
Since 2001, the Bank's "key interest rate" has been the target for the overnight rate. The target is set at the midpoint of the Bank's operating band.
Previously, the key interest rate was the Bank Rate. The Bank Rate still exists, and is currently set at the top of the operating band. However, other methods have been used to set the Bank Rate in the past.