Any prospect of rates coming down? WHAT is going on?

dunstonh

I'm totally amazed - especially on a moneysaving website - that the lenders have so many apologists and cheerleaders in their rip-off tactics.

Just because its fashionable to bash the banks, it doesnt mean everything they do is wrong. Thankfully there are enough posters here who don't rely on newspaper headlines to cloud their judgement and will instead criticise the banks where necessary but not when it isnt;

michaels

I can (and will) change mortgage company whenever I want and pay a variable rate that the lender can change when they want - why on earth would the lender look at long term financing rates to fund my mortgage?

dunstonh wrote: »

As has been said a few times on this thread already. Short term financing rates are lower than before. Long term financing rates are higher than before. Mortgages are long term.

Why not tell us how you think they should be able to buck that trend instead of just posting like a Daily Mail headline?

Alan_Cross

dunstonh wrote: »

Just because its fashionable to bash the banks, it doesnt mean everything they do is wrong. Thankfully there are enough posters here who don't rely on newspaper headlines to cloud their judgement and will instead criticise the banks where necessary but not when it isnt;

Er... yes. It's 'fashionable' for a reason, actually, and a very well founded one at that.

You may well want to play the lenders' game of 'business as usual' but some of us here have listened to the wake up call.

If you seriously believe for one moment that that there has been any cultural shift on the part of the City m afia then you are deluding yourself, big time. The aims and objectives are still the same; the keep-the-little-people-and-their-government-at-arms-length thinking and trough-snoutery are still the same and, of course, the snouts are still the same very largely.

We all now have a very large stake in the banking system - and refusing to use it judiciously to help the economy and the general good is a gobsmackingly craven piece of Government ineptitude.

ILW

As a taxpayer and by default a shareholder in some of the banks, I would like to seem them maximise their profits. Getting a bit sick of people moaning about paying 5% on a mortgage when it is lower than they would have dreamed of a few years ago.

Jacka87

As a taxpayer and by default a shareholder in some of the banks, I would like to seem them maximise their profits. Getting a bit sick of people moaning about paying 5% on a mortgage when it is lower than they would have dreamed of a few years ago.

I agree with you ILW however its fairly clear that the banks intend on repayin the government as soon as possible so that they can then get back to making profits and paying themselves huge bonuses etc! If the government where to hold there stake a little longer they could help strengthen the economy by keep rates (fixed) lower. They would still receive the profits to recoup our taxes but they would have helped the economy and would have undertook a little more interest in along the way.

I also think that the government, once recouped our tax investment should retain the shares for a period at least to gain a little extra, after all thats the point of other peoples investments so why not the tax payers?

Alan_Cross

Crap, ILW.

Check this out and see whether you still think 5%+ is a reasonable level for fixed rates:

http://www.wsjprimerate.us/libor/libor_rates_history.htm

But then you've already made it pretty clear that you're an 'I'm all right, Jack" merchant...

ILW

Alan_Cross wrote: »

But then you've already made it pretty clear that you're an 'I'm all right, Jack" merchant...

I think most are.
If you had been clever enough to be sitting on a 0.5% BoE tracker, would you have transferred to the SVR or a 5% fixed "for the common good"?
Guess that puts you in the "I'm all right" category too.