Lending rates hit all time highs "This inverse relationship between low interest rates and increasing charges by the financial community makes the public feel at a loss in terms of getting a fair deal," he said. The BoE's figures show that the average interest rate on a Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgage was 4.16 per cent in January. The difference between that figure and the base rate is 3.66 per cent. This gap has not been higher in 17 years. Mortgage levels are set to rise even further. Halifax, the UK's largest mortgage lender, said over the weekend that it will raise its SVR from 3.5 per cent to 3.99 per cent in May, affecting an estimated 850,000 borrowers. The increase means someone with a £150,000 mortgage, repayable over 25 years, will pay £39.99 more each month. Royal Bank of Scotland also increased its rates. The record lending rates come as savers receive next to nothing on their bank deposits. According to the BoE, the average interest rate on a deposit account in January was just 0.2 per cent, the lowest since the spring of 2010. Indebtedness in increasing across the UK. Figures released yesterday from Credit Action showed that the average household debt in the UK, excluding mortgages, was £7,975 in January, up from £7,951 the previous month. Including mortgages, the average household debt was £55,988, an increase of around £150 on the previous month. In total, the average British adult owes banks and other lenders the equivalent of 122 per cent of average yearly earnings. Research released last week from The Co-operative Bank found that over two-thirds of UK adults have admitted to having debt problems. However those in debt do not believe that they have money worries until they have accumulated an average of £1,247 of debt in overdrafts, credit card bills or other types of loan. The BBA, which represents British banks, said that increased gap between the base rate and rates that banks charge borrowers does not mean that their profit margins are increasing. It said that the cost at which banks raise funding has increased since the credit crisis.