Base rates down 0.25% to 5.5%

Paul_Herring

superstar wrote: »

Halifax hasn't cut down the rates yet, so i am going to jump onto the boat now ...

Um - they cut them not too long ago: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/nov/24/savings.moneysupplement

Guardian_-_November_24 wrote:

Popular accounts will pay up to 0.25% less. And, as Vishala Sri-Pathma reports, you'll need a degree to work it all out.

Millions of savers with Halifax look to be worse-off after the bank announced it is reducing the interest rate paid on many of its popular accounts by up to 0.25%.

The timing of the move, which hits those with instant access accounts hardest, is highly unusual given that the Bank of England has left the base rate unchanged since July.

[...]

Not that this will stop them cutting them again now...

Milarky

whowants2brich wrote: »

But on the flip side, I believe that an official situation which will affect everyone, the change should be made by each bank at a set time - to affect everyone. If a bank increases or decreases its SVR, then the savings rates should all be amended at the same time. This would then give banks the option of varying the rates as per the BoE but also being flexible in times when they have to cope with extreme scenarios such as the credit crunch...:)

I agree. I think I posted something similar a while back. If banks 'had' to set ALL their rates within a window of much less than 30 days of the BOE MPC monthly meeting - so they could move rates each month and every month - but within, say, seven days of today's date - then their ability to play 'catch up' or move rates down just ahead of the MPC (see Lloyds post above) and then move them down just after 'in response' would be neutered. Consumers gain because (unlike now) they could just check which banks have moved/not moved (and by how much) at the same point each month and would not have o go around scouring numerous websites. (Might make this place a bit of graveyard however!)

bristolleedsfan

superstar wrote: »

Halifax hasn't cut down the rates yet, so i am going to jump onto the boat now ...

halifax is passing on full 0.25% cut to borrowers from 1st jan so halifax savings rates being cut across the board is as certain as night following day.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/dec/06/interestrates.mortgages

purch

If banks 'had' to set ALL their rates within a window of much less than 30 days of the BOE MPC monthly meeting

..........we wouldn't have a free, open and competitive market

The only reason borrowers can get 'cheap' mortgages, loans and zero % credit cards, and savers higher interest rates and bonds is the open and free market

The BOE and the Government has no control, nor should it over the rates charged by individual institutions

The Central Banks and Governments have little or no actual influence on the market, as has been seen by the effects of the credit crunch.

The BOE can cut rates as much as it likes but Mortgage rates will still go UP, and Mortages will still become harder to arrange because lenders cannot easily fund their lending, and Savings rates will still go UP because the same lenders need savers deposits to fund themselves

Thats the reality of the current situation

bristolleedsfan

purch wrote: »

..........we wouldn't have a free, open and competitive market

The only reason borrowers can get 'cheap' mortgages, loans and zero % credit cards, and savers higher interest rates and bonds is the open and free market

absolutely correct :T many on here will remember the days when all the building societies used to hold monthly meetings to decide what its ( all the building societies ) morgage rate would be. ( building societies used to operate as a cartel)

http://www.fsclub.co.uk/past/fsc-050207-sum.pdf

baby_fuzz

Milarky wrote: »

[Just got an email from LTSB saying they are cutting the rate on the Online Saver by 0.25%. I thought "that was quick!" but it was actually cut on Monday......]

What really gets my goat is that I signed up for interest paid annually - that means that if I move now, I don't get the interest...:mad:

baby_boomer

Yes you do.

superstar_2

bristolleedsfan wrote: »

halifax is passing on full 0.25% cut to borrowers from 1st jan so halifax savings rates being cut across the board is as certain as night following day.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/dec/06/interestrates.mortgages

So, will it be cut from tomorro onwards? Halifax did reduce 0.1% about 4 weeks ago randomly tho! :mad:

bristolleedsfan

superstar wrote: »

So, will it be cut from tomorro onwards? Halifax did reduce 0.1% about 4 weeks ago randomly tho! :mad:

morgage and savings rate changes usually occur at the same time, so both nationwide and halifax rate changes will occur on january 1st ish ( some might wait until first working day in january)

when halifax was a BS was always halifax and nationwide making first noises following base rate changes, is the same now. :rolleyes:

will be interesting to c how Yorkshire BS treats its regular savers. :drool:

Paul_Herring

Milarky wrote: »

I agree. I think I posted something similar a while back. If banks 'had' to set ALL their rates within a window of much less than 30 days of the BOE MPC monthly meeting - so they could move rates each month and every month - but within, say, seven days of today's date - then their ability to play 'catch up' or move rates down just ahead of the MPC (see Lloyds post above) and then move them down just after 'in response' would be neutered. Consumers gain because (unlike now) they could just check which banks have moved/not moved (and by how much) at the same point each month and would not have o go around scouring numerous websites. (Might make this place a bit of graveyard however!)

Meanwhile, in the real world, mortgage (tracker) rates are more a function of LIBOR than BOE base rates. It's just that up until recently, LIBOR has generally tracked the perceived fluctuations in the BOE base rate. And of course the media have ignored this and directly tied base rates to mortgage and savings interest rates.

Legislatively tying changes of bank rates to the base rate is only likely to cause more problems than it'd solve.