One-third of UK mortgage borrowers report they will struggle to make their monthly loan payments if interest rates were to increase by 2 percent, according to an ICM study published in the Guardian. The Bank of England voted last week to keep the rate at 0.5 percent, where it’s been for more than five years. Market watchers think it is unlikely the bank will greenlight an increase before next year’s general election. However, bank governor Mark Carney has hinted that the rate will increase at some point until it hits about 3 percent. The results of the ICM study show that 32 percent of mortgage borrowers indicated that they would have a hard time paying off their loan if the interest rate went up.
