Skipton International says it will not pass on the Bank of England’s latest base rate hike and will maintain its current standard variable rate and follow on rate.

Last week the central bank lifted its interest rate to 0.75% from 0.5%, making it the third rate hike since December, when interest rates stood at a historic 0.1% low.

The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee also revised up previous assumptions on prices, saying that it expects inflation to peak in April at 7.25%, due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is pushing up energy, food and other costs.

Earlier this week, inflation hit 6.2% in the year to February, the highest rate for 30 years. The current level of rising prices is well above the Bank’s 2% target.

Some economists say inflation may hit double digits later this year, for the first time in 40 years.

Skipton International managing director Jim Coupe says: “With high inflation and energy costs, we believe keeping our current SVR and FOR rates as they are is the most logical thing we can do in support of our customers.”

The Guernsey-licensed bank also says its UK buy-to-let mortgage applications in February hit a new record, up 83% on the previous month.

It adds that almost a third of these applications came from Hong Kong residents. 

The lender says: “UK property is seen by many as an opportunity to build long-term returns in a safe and well-regulated country.”

The bank also cites data from home price comparison site Zoopla, which says house prices rose by 7.8% in the year to the end of January 2022, and forecasts that by the end of 2022 the average price of property will rise by 3.5%.