Until 1972 this was the interest rate used by the Bank of England to rediscount first-class bills for its customers. When this system was in operation many other interest rates were specified in terms of their margin above bank rate. The bank rate directly affected other interest rates only when the market needed to borrow from the Bank of England, but changes in bank rate were announced as a means of informing the City of the Bank of England’s views on what commercial interest rates should be.