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<p>The Government is committed to ensuring people are supported to save, and that
they can access a wide range of competitive savings products. The retail savings market
currently offers a range of competitive options to savers, who can now access the
highest rates in recent years on a variety of instant access and fixed-term products.
I would encourage savers to explore the full range of products available in the market
to find the best rates.</p><p> </p><p>However, the pricing and provision of financial
products (including savings accounts), is a commercial decision for banks and building
societies and the Government does not seek to intervene in such decisions. The Bank
of England’s independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sets the base rate of interest,
known as the Bank Rate, to achieve its primary objective of maintaining price stability.
MPC decisions over Bank Rate guide commercial banks’ decisions over the retail interest
rates they charge on loans and pay on deposits.</p>
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