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base rate

base rate

5.5
A key interest rate set by the Bank of England that other loan rates follow
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : tipo de interés base
  • That means they're still looking incredibly likely that we will see some base rate cuts happening this year.

So what does that mean for future base rate increases with these meetings?

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Examples

  • So you have some base rates to start with.

  • Good news, I suppose, in terms of the fix if there's the base rate not going up.

  • Bank margins have increased from 1% to 3%, roughly, but at the same time, the cost of funds for banks (the base rate) has gone down from 4% to 2%.

    Blog text (32)
  • Compared to the base rate of 56% in the normative population (Barkley, 1990, p. 63), the prevalence rate of attention deficit disorder in children with language impairments is extremely high.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The Bank of England announced that it would keep the base rate at 0.1% to support the economy during the pandemic.

  • Many lenders adjust their mortgage rates based on the base rate set by the Bank of England.

  • Changes in the base rate can significantly impact loan costs for consumers and businesses.

Synonyms

discount rate
vsbase rate
  • Specialized
6 4.9

Interest rate a central bank charges banks for borrowing money

is instead the broader benchmark guiding general market interest levels
bank rate
vsbase rate
  • Specialized
1 4.6

The interest rate that a country's central bank sets for loans to commercial banks

is the benchmark used to set market lending and other interest rates

Surface Forms

base rate singular
base rates plural

Morphology

base + rate

The meaning is directly compositional: 'base' as a foundational or benchmark and 'rate' as a price/interest combine to yield 'benchmark interest rate'. This is a straightforward, non-idiomatic economic term (found in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the sense.

Etymology

The noun base rate comes from the idea of base as a 'starting level' and rate as the interest percent. Banks set this basic interest level that other loan rates follow, so it's the 'standard' used to decide many loan costs.