BOE says UK economy resilient to higher rates

BOE says UK economy resilient to higher rates

The full impact is expected to take time with the high debt service ratios to last until 2023.

UK’s corporate sector was ‘broadly resilient’ despite higher financing costs.  (Unsplash pic)
LONDON:
The Bank of England said on Wednesday that Britain’s economy was proving resilient to the risks posed by higher interest rates, although it would take time for the full impact to feed through.

“The proportion of households with high debt service ratios … has increased and is expected to continue to do so through 2023. But it is projected to remain some way below the historic peak reached in 2007,” the BOE said in its half-yearly Financial Stability Report.

The BOE said households were more affected by higher interest rates than banks, while the corporate sector remained “broadly resilient”.

“Nevertheless, higher financing costs are likely to put pressure on some smaller or highly leveraged firms,” it added.

The BOE added that following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, it was working with Britain’s finance ministry to ensure that there were options to smoothly wind up small banks which were exempt from some requirements applying to larger ones.

BOE Governor Andrew Bailey will present the report’s findings in a press conference at 0800 GMT.

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