The European Central Bank kept its main interest rate at a record low of one per cent yesterday as an audit of Greece noted considerable progress in its public debt crisis.

In London, the Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate at 0.5 per cent – also a record low level – amid fears growth remains at risk.

The ECB released a statement along with the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund which said a Greek government plan to cut its deficit and debt had made “considerable progress in a vast array of areas”.

The statement said “important reforms are ahead of schedule” but warned that “important challenges and risks remain” in Athens’s struggle to straighten out its finances after its problems sparked a eurozone crisis this year.

The rate decision came as eurozone growth has picked up, tension on financial markets has eased and most big European banks showed they had enough core capital to withstand another slowdown and losses on loans and government bonds.