Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table giving the minimum lending rate of the Bank of England on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October in each year from 1 January 1990; what is the average mortgage interest rate for the leading building societies at each of these dates; and what is the differential between them.
§ Mr. NelsonThe minimum lending rate was not in use on any of the dates specified. The table gives the clearing banks' base rates on those dates, and the average mortgage interest rate of all building societies.
Base rate Mortgage rate Differential 1990 January 15.0 14.44 -0.56 April 15.0 15.24 0.24 July 15.0 15.25 0.25 October 15.0 15.25 0.25 1991 January 14.0 14.34 0.34 April 12.5 14.24 1.74 July 11.5 12.75 1.25 October 10.5 11.82 1.32 1992 January 10.5 11.39 0.89 April 10.5 10.96 0.46 July 10.0 10.82 0.82 October 9.0 10.60 1.60 1993 January 7.0 8.98 1.98 April 6.0 8.04 2.04 July 6.0 8.01 2.01 October 6.0 8.00 2.00 1994 January 5.5 8.00 2.50