After the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this month the Bank of England announced that the base interest rate was to be left on hold at 0.5 percent.

This was a widely expected move, as many analysts and industry experts had predicted that the base rate would remain static given the fact that it had already fallen to the lowest level in the three hundred and fifteen year history of the Bank of England, and that it stood at just a tenth of the level that it was at seven months ago, when it was 5 percent.

However, whilst the base interest rate was kept on hold, the central bank also announced that it was ploughing a further £50 billion into the economy as part of its quantitative easing programme. The process involves the purchase of government and corporate bonds to increase the amount of money in circulation, and the hope is that this process will encourage lending and boost the economy.

Whilst the reactions are mixed some experts think that the government measures that have been put into place have started to take some effect, and have started to produce more positive results and data. However, others have said that there is still a very long way to go, and in the meantime the nation will remain in a deep recession. The decision to plough another £50 billion into the economy will bring the government spending on quantitative easing up to £125 billion total, although around £150 billion has been earmarked in total.

Some experts have said that the mortgage industry has started to show signs of improvement already, with mortgage lending increasing and with many lenders now starting to accept smaller deposits.

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