This chart shows what’s changed since since the Bank of England began its quantitative easing programme in 2009
Tomorrow is the eighth anniversary of the Bank of England (BoE)'s quantitative easing (QE) programme and of interest rates being cut to the "emergency" level of 0.5 per cent.
It also happens to be the deadline for written submission to the treasury select committee's enquiry into the effectiveness and impact of the post-2008 monetary policy.
Laith Khalaf, senior analyst of Hargreaves Lansdown said the BoE's loose monetary policy has "annihilated" the income streams of cash savers and pushed bond yields down to historically low levels.
Record low interest rates have made saving less attractive to consumers, said Martin Palmer, head of corporate funds propositions at Zurich.
"Coupled with rising inflation, personal spending power is being further diminished and we’re all being left with less in our back pockets at the end of the month," Palmer said.
Khalaf added:
We only have to look back a few days to see disruption in the insurance industry caused by a government decision to base personal injury compensation claims on the real yield of index-linked gilts, which currently stand at -0.75 per cent. Likewise low bond yields have pushed pension liabilities up, leading to widening deficits for many UK companies.
Read more: Government cuts insurance discount rate: Here's how the City reacted
But it's not all bad
"While still sluggish, the UK economy is at least still heading in the right direction," Khalaf said.
QE has made borrowing easier, which has supported the housing market and homeowners. It has also made debt cheaper for companies and has supported the stock market, which has made huge gains since QE was introduced.
What's changed? Key indicators then and now
| March 2009 | March 2017 | |
| Two-year fixed rate mortgage | 5.97 per cent | 2.5 per cent |
| 10-year UK gilt yield | 3.6 per cent | 1.2 per cent |
| Corporate bond yields | 8.9 per cent | 2.8 per cent |
| FTSE 100 | 3,530 | 7,383 |
| Amount held by households in non-interest bearing deposit accounts | £50bn | £176bn |
| Average instant access account interest rate | 0.94 per cent | 0.37 per cent |
Looking forward, Khalaf said unwinding QE isn't going to happen all at once.
"In the meantime we can expect interest rates to remain low for the foreseeable future, and while in the short term the stock market can of course head in either direction, history tells us it’s still the best place for long term money," Khalaf said.
How have key asset classes performed since QE?
| Total return since 5 March 2009 | |
| Cash | 5.4 per cent |
| Corporate Bonds | 108.9 per cent |
| FTSE All Share | 192.3 per cent |
| Gold | 56.1 per cent |
| UK Consumer Price Index | 18.4 per cent |
| UK Gilts | 57.1 per cent |
| UK Nationwide House Price Index | 38.2 per cent |