Record of Financial Policy Committee Meetings held on 17 and 25 June 2014

At its meetings on 17 and 25 June 2014, the Financial Policy Committee agreed two recommendations and set the countercyclical capital buffer rate:

1. When assessing affordability, mortgage lenders should apply an interest rate stress test that assesses whether borrowers could still afford their mortgages if, at any point over the first five years of the loan, Bank Rate were to be 3 percentage points higher than the prevailing rate at origination. This recommendation is intended to be read together with the FCA requirements around considering the effect of future interest rate rises as set out in MCOB 11.6.18(2).

2. The PRA and the FCA should ensure that mortgage lenders do not extend more than 15% of their total number of new residential mortgages at loan to income ratios at or greater than 4.5. This recommendation applies to all lenders which extend residential mortgage lending in excess of £100 million per annum. The recommendation should be implemented as soon as is practicable.

3. The FPC set the countercyclical capital buffer rate for UK exposures at 0%.

Financial Policy Committee record