The Bank of England is at least five years away from creating a digital pound, a deputy governor of the Bank of England has said. Sir Jon Cunliffe told MPs that it was his personal opinion that the creation of a digital currency was far more likely than not. His comments go further than a consultation paper issued by the Bank and the government last month, which said a digital pound was likely to be necessary. JASON ALDEN/GETTY IMAGES The Bank and Treasury are advancing their plans to create...

Record global central bank interest rate rises are having less impact on slowing inflation and economic growth than in the past, the Bank for International Settlements has warned. The influential body, known as the “central bank of central banks”, has said that an increase in fixed and longer-term lending is dampening the effect that higher borrowing costs have on households and businesses. Evidence suggests that the unprecedented tightening in global monetary policy of last year, during...

Millions of homeowners refixing their mortgages next year face an average annual increase of £3,000 in repayments, according to research which warns that 2023 will bring additional financial hardship for borrowers. A report by the Resolution Foundation think tank said that the two million homeowners who will have to refix their mortgages next year face the highest interest rates since 2008. An average fixed-rate repayment will increase from £750 a month to £1,000. The UK economy is one of the...

Higher interest rates could deepen a recession in the UK, the newest member of the Bank of England’s rate-setting committee has warned. Swati Dhingra, a trade economist at the London School of Economics, said raising borrowing costs has a detrimental impact on the economy and people’s living standards. “You do see a much deeper and a longer recession with rates being much higher. That is what I think we should all be worried about,” Dhingra told The Observer. “Are we going to end up...