Yorkshire Building Society aims to protect savers after rate cut

Yorkshire Building Society has expressed disappointment at the Bank of England's decision to reduce base rates by a further 0.5% today.

The cut see rates down from 5% just six months ago to a mere 0.5% today. This action further impacts on savers, particularly those who rely on their savings to boost their pension, and the Yorkshire will therefore do everything within its power to protect them.

Iain Cornish, chief executive at Yorkshire Building Society said: "We are disappointed in the Bank of England decision to reduce the base rate by 50bp today. It is those who rely on their savings interest to boost their state pension who are really starting to suffer. RPI may be at its lowest level for a long time but that does not help pensioners pay their council tax bill or cope with heating costs.

"Throughout the recent rate reductions we have not passed on the full rate cuts demonstrating our commitment to our saving members, who at the Yorkshire out-number borrowers by a ratio of 8:1. Of the last four base rate reductions, which totalled 4%, we have reduced our average savings rate by only around 3%. As a result, over the full course of a year, we calculate that the Society's savers will be over £70m better off than they would otherwise have been."