This is a catastrophe for those who manage their financial affairs prudently. It would have been far better to have dealt with this problem fiscally by slashing the personal tax take. In that way it would have likely benefitted all those who deserve to be helped through this New Labour induced mess.

John, Leighton Buzzard,

The general attitude here is: you stupid youngster bororrowed more than you could afford! Excuse me but we borrowed what we had to! We are trying to have a home and a family exactly like older people managed to do years ago. Younger generations did not make this society!

andrea ceccanti, london, uk

The banks and the country need to be recapitalised. I dont see how making saving less profitable is going to achieve that - it's sending all the wrong messages.

Unless ( as I suspect ) the government always assumed the banks don't pass on the rate cut - its a way of rebuilding bank margins.

Simon, London,

There will be a public outcry if the Banks do not pass on the rate cuts or award their staff large bonuses. As with the Oil Companies, the Government could consider taxing the Bank's (expected) high profits and pass them on to the tax payer by way of reducing income tax in the next budget.

Janusz Adamson, Stockbridge, UK

Dream on, if you think banks are going to pass lower rates through to consumers and small businesses. There's nothing forcing about it. This rate reduction is a voluntary gift from taxpayers to banks which increase banks' profit margins for which bank management is richly rewarded. Well done!

Lou, Heidelberg, Germany

The banks blame the LIBOR rate as for not dropping interest rates. It's actually dropped from 6.3% to 5.5% since the rate cut in October, yet half the banks have failed to pass any of this on, and most of the rest have passed only a small proportion of it on. In reality they are profiteering.

David Knight, Reading,

You can't have it both ways!! The reason we are in this mess is because interest rates were kept too low for too long. We're jusy storing up even more problems for the future. The way out of a debt fueld crisis, isn't more debt!!

Richard, London,

We all said dont give the banks our money did the goverment listen no, and no look they are powerless to do any thing to the banks, we need to stop rewading banks and start punisheing them and stop this messing about I mean how weak is Brown?

MR W Jones, Liverpool, England

The banks like the oil companies will be sitting there waiting to see how long they can go on without passing any change onto the long suffering customers. I own a small business and the banks don't loan me any money unless it is safely secured. They protect their own interests, full stop.

Alan Gourlay, Atherstone,

If the only way to fight these credit issues is to reduce the interest rate then there really is not a lot of room for manouvre.

Cheap credit got us where we are today - people over borrowed, banks over lent and government under regulated. Couple this with worldwide recession = economy meltdown.

Ian, Maidstone, UK

There is (arguably) still a range of high street banks in competition with each other. If any bank could afford to cut, it would win market share and the others would then have to follow. Ergo either they cannot afford to cut, or they have illegally collaborated not to. The PM is just handwringing.

Alex, London,

If your mortgage provider doesn't pass on this cut then consider moving your mortgage to a bank that has. They'll soon start to pass on the cut when we start leaving them. LloydsTsb has lead the way (no choice really after taking bailout) others will lose business and bad PR if they do not cut rate

Richard, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales

It cuts both ways. Savings rates have not been cut either. Banks are desperate for cash. If they can afford to pay 14% to middle-eastern investors, they can afford to pay 6% to British savers, and are doing so. The conclusion? The BoE base rate is near irrelevant. The market has set a rate itself.

Alex, London,

I don't understand how the government can lend to the banks at rates of 12% then expect them to cut interest rates on money they lend out?

Steve Byrne, christchurch, UK

What we should be hearing about and concentrating politicions minds is what the banks are doing to young borrowers on existing fixed rate mortgages that are coming up for renewal. A 'paper' revaluation puts the loan into a higher % bracket, so the bank offers ppenal rates or no offer at all.

Jeremy Woodland, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leics

The politicians, central banks and taxpayers have played their part. Now it is up to the directors of commercial banks to show their character and provide some leadership. Start earning those salaries, guys!

Frank Upton, Solihull,

But don't tracker mortgages have a lower ceiling limit at between 3.5 and 4. So some people with trackers will only notice a .5% cut and others 1%, many will not see 1.5% cuts due to this lower ceiling rate being applied. Read the small print on your mortgages.

Johnny, Lancaster, Lancashire

Much of the financial problem has been caused by indivduals / businesses borrowing more than was wise. This rate cut makes borrowing cheaper which encourages those not in financial difficulty (the majority) to spend/borrow more and makes saving less attractive. How does this fix the problem?

Graham, Tring, UK

A rich person becomes poor. You give them some money and ask them to give it to other poor people.

Do you honestly think they are really going to do it?

mark, Kawasaki, Japan

BOE announces a 33% reduction in the interest. Why are the BOE, Governement and TUC acting against the youth without houses and prudent retired, savers and pension funds and prefer to to benefit the reckless borrowers, greedy house price chasers mortgaged over their ability to repay?

S Yogarajah, Harrow, UK