"BOE will not raise interest rates to pre-crisis highs"
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said interest rates were likely to remain below the highs seen before the financial crisis The Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said interest rates were likely to remain below the highs seen before the financial crisis, in the latest hint that the Bank of England’s fastest run of increases in three decades was nearing the end. Bailey also said interest rate decisions would not be affected by the crisis hitting the global banking system and expressed confidence that Britain would weather the storm in financial markets and said rate setters would focus on tackling inflation. Bailey’s comments came after the BOE raised its key lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point last week to 4.25%, the highest level since 2008, despite the bailout of SVB Financial Group’s UK unit. Bailey said the UK banking system was “resilient” enough to withstand further shocks and that authorities had the right tools to help institutions in trouble. That means the BOE's regulators can iron out any kinks that arise and the Monetary Policy Committee will work to bring inflation down from double digits to its 2 percent target.