Bank of England (BoE) base rate
Banks and Building societies use the base rate to calculate interest rates for some of their mortgages and savings products. If the BoE announces a change to the base interest rate, your mortgage could be affected. If it is, we’ll write to you to let you know your new rate and monthly payment.
Base rate changes
The decision to raise or lower the rate is made by the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The decision is based on the financial state of the UK economy. Aspects such as inflation, employment figures and consumer confidence helps decide to raise or lower the rate.
How a rate change could affect your mortgage
Variable rate mortgages:
The Nationwide Base mortgage rate (BMR) and Standard mortgage rate (SMR) are both variable rates which could potentially be influenced by a BoE base rate change.
Fixed rate mortgages:
If you're on a fixed rate mortgage, your rate will not change. If your fixed deal is coming to an end, you'll move on to the Nationwide Standard or Base rate mortgage.
Tracker rate mortgages:
With a tracker rate mortgage, your interest rate is a fixed percentage above the BoE base rate. This means your payments will go up and down in line with base rate as it is changed by the BoE.
There is a limit to how low your interest rate can be if you're on a Nationwide tracker rate mortgage. This limit is called your tracker floor. We set the tracker floor at a certain rate, depending on when you took your mortgage out. If the Bank of England base rate falls below the tracker floor, your interest rate payments will not change until the BoE increases above the tracker floor again.
You can find out what your tracker rate floor is by using table below.
If you can't view the whole table, swipe or scroll to show more > > >
| Date your tracker was reserved | Tracker floor | Impact of the base rate change on your tracker mortgage |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1 December 2004 | None | We'll write to you to let you know if your mortgage rate and payments are affected. |
| Between 1 December 2004 and 30 November 2008 | 2.75% on original offer, Currently 2% as a temporary concession until further notice | Your tracker floor is 2.75%, however, due to the temporary concession your floor is currently 2% until further notice. This means that your mortgage rate and payments will not change until the Bank of England base rate rises back above 2%. Please note: Not all mortgages reserved within this period have a tracker floor. If you're unsure, please refer to your original mortgage offer. |
| Between 1 December 2008 and 16 February 2009 | 1% | Your tracker floor is 1%, this means that your mortgage rate and monthly payments will not change until the Bank of England base rate rises above 1%. |
| Between 17 February 2009 and 11 June 2009 | 0.01% | We will write to you to let you know if your mortgage rate and payments are affected. |
| Since 12 June 2009 | 0.00% | We will write to you to let you know if your mortgage rate and payments are affected. |
What to do if your mortgage is affected
Switch to a fixed rate mortgage
If the base rate changes, you can remain on your variable or tracker rate, or you can switch your existing deal.
You can switch to a fixed rate at any time to benefit from the stability of fixed monthly payments.
Note:
If you’re concerned about paying your mortgage we are here to help. Call us on 0800 464 30 30 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) to discuss your options, or visit our challenging times page.
Payment change calculator
We have a calculator that can let you find out how your monthly payments could be affected due to an interest rate change.
Related links
Contact us
If you have questions about the base rate, call us:
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.
Saturday, 8am to 2pm.
Closed Sundays and bank holidays.