Commercial lending is not expected to be affected by interest rate rises until next year, it has been claimed.
The Bank of England is not likely to increase interest rates until next year, according to an economist.
In fact, the monetary policy committee (MPC) would cut interest rates further if it could, to encourage activity in the financial sector, according to BNP Paribas, such as
commercial lending and offering other
sources of finance.
Economist at the banking and financial services firm Alan Clarke suggested that a rise is unlikely due to forecasts of sluggish GDP growth.
He said: "If we were in a position where it wasn't appropriate to cut interest rates anymore you would have a pause; a period of a minimum of six months, or closer to a year before the first hike.
"We will be in a soft patch and I think inflation will be very low and that will support holding interest rates very low for probably the whole of 2011 as well."
In addition to voting to maintain the base rate at 0.5 per cent, the MPC also voted to continue with its programme of asset purchasing, which now totals £200 billion.
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