BoE's Tucker considers case for negative interest rates

The Bank of England's deputy governor Paul Tucker has raised the prospect of introducing negative interest rates to boost lending and support the UK economy.

Addressing MPs on the Treasury Select Committee, Tucker said the idea has been raised as a possible strategy to improve the economic recovery, the BBC reports. "This would be an extraordinary thing to do and it needs to be thought through carefully,” he said. "I hope we will think about whether there are constraints to setting negative interest rates." The Bank rate has been at a historic low of 0.5% for close to four years, which has been detrimental to savers who have received paltry returns on their cash deposits. Another option Tucker suggested was "possible extensions" to the ...