In the Board's January senior loan officer opinion survey, bank officials reported higher interest rates for loans and tighter lending standards, relative to the end of last year.2 These loan officers also said they expected to continue tightening lending standards over the course of 2023.
In response to the impact of these developments on the inflation outlook, the monetary policy stance has been tightened progressively over the past year. The repurchase rate was increased by 50 basis points after each of four of the six MPC meetings held since the previous annual general meeting.