Interest rate could settle at 3%, says BoE's Bean

The official UK interest rate could settle at an average of 3% in a few years, the outgoing Deputy Governor of the Bank of England has predicted.

Charlie Bean (pictured) suggested it was likely to reach that level between 2017 and 2019, the BBC reports. The rate has been at the historic low of 0.5% since March 2009 and the Bank's governor has indicated it will not start rising before next spring. But Bean told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend there were economic advantages to beginning earlier. The UK interest rate fell to 0.5% in the wake of the worldwide financial crisis in 2008. It has been kept at that level amid concerns the finances of many individuals and businesses remain too weak to withstand a rise. But rece...