The economic crisis was caused by everyone taking on way too much debt over many years. It's as simple as that. How can forcing banks to lend yet more money possibly be a solution?

John, Atlanta,

The whole thing stinks

fed up, london,

Please create ony 2 national (public) bank without giving any bail out to private bank; then I am sure existing private bank will start lending. I hope private will learn a good lesson.

Mohammed Malik, London,

The government has given billions of our money to the banks in order that they can lend it back to the us and charge us for the privilege!! Why not allow small companies/individuals to apply directly to the Bank of England for loans at competative rates!!

Steve, London,

With an expected drop in interest rates, savers may abandon the banks compounding their liquidity problem.

Recapitalisation, 'phase two' is inevitable.

Sean, London, UK

Stop using artificial methods! Go back to basics!
If people are encouraged to save, the banks will automatically have the money to lend. This will NOT happen if interest rates are brought down to such a low level that one's money is not worth investing. Hardly rocket science , is it?!!!!

pedro, london, uk

Why give money to the Banks for them only to hold onto it.
Lend the money directly to those who can do something with it and whilst they're at it stop plundering the earnings of small business's with increased taxes and regulation.
This govt. is a farce - sooner they go the better.

N Morgan, Stockport, UK

I think you'll struggle to find any banker expecting a bonus this year and next, with most being happy simply to save their jobs despite working longer/harder than ever and facing massive uncertainty.

Tempting as it may be, jumping on this bandwagon helps no-one.

Mark, Dundee,

everything in this country is over inflated, petrol, the price of a pint, milk, cars, houses, i paid £4 today for a pack of tile spacers from the diy store that probably cost less than 10p to make .... since when has a jumper been worth £60, since when has a pair of shoes cost £150 time for reality

richard S, warwick , uk

Keep going brown can we delay the worst just long enough to blame someone else.The nhs/mrsa not our fault years of not spending.The education everyone is now a genius other generations knew nothing.Iraq a complete success.If these lot was running a football team do you think we would cheer them?

nigel, truro,

It's quite simple - the Banks won't go back to anything like normal lending until UK property prices have bottomed out - and there is still plenty of downside to go !.

Ken Valentine, Worthing, UK

Ye, soon 1 euro will be worth 2 pounds. Good luck ;(

Tom, huddersfield, uk

Ye, soon 1 euro will be worth 2 pounds. Good luck ;(

Tom, huddersfield, uk

everything in this country is over inflated, petrol, the price of a pint, milk, cars, houses, i paid £4 today for a pack of tile spacers from the diy store that probably cost less than 10p to make .... since when has a jumper been worth £60, since when has a pair of shoes cost £150 time for reality

richard S, warwick , uk

I was warning over a year ago of this, now the penny has dropped. The government can only keep the base rate down for a short time for all the reasons everyone has pointed out, then rates well go through the roof. But i think we should be able to call for an election now, labour must go!

oliver, colchester,

With the prospect of zero interest or indeed, the spectre of the banks levying a charge to look after my money, stuffing what I have under the mattress doesn't seem such a bad idea at the moment.

Eric, Worcester Park,

What is the point of handing these banks more taxpayers cash when all they want to do with it is is pay themselves big bonuses. nationalise the lot and give all of us a bonus.

waine, merseyside, uk

Surely the government ought to be aiming to develop a balanced economy with a healthy mixture of industries - manufacturing, service, financial, etc. - and not keep throwing all their eggs (and our taxes) into the dubious, slippery hands of the financial sector.

Chris K, Cheltenham, UK

If the government really want the banks to lend more let them take the risk themselves and lend it through the state owned Northern Rock. Our banks are currently trying to be prudent - a lesson the government would do well to learn themselves.

Graham M, Corby, England

Get rid of personal debt instead of bailing out the banks, halt repossessions, support industry instead of creating 'non jobs' within an ever expanding bureaucracy.
Freeze all Civil service pay from top to bottom.

Nigel, Horsham, UK

Time for a cross party government Lab Tory LibDem.
NO £££ for banks NO BONUSES. Pay equal shares of buyout direct to EVERYONE as tokens to pay off property or finance debt. If free of debt can be used for pension savings?) We can buy stuff, save jobs, and banks lend again.

Shan Morgain, UK, UK

If the Government wants 'banks' to lend more money, it can do that directly via the state owned Northern Rock and RBS. It doesn't need to do it by proxy, or buy toxic assets from the private banks. The Government can then lend to businesses, industry and even home buyers, ignoring the private banks.

John, Edinburgh, UK

With the many thousands of our savings for our old ages held in savings accounts at leading banks in sterling, iwith the interest rates falling is time for all to withdraw their hard earned cash and let the banks that have dearned their fates with indiscriminate lending to fail.

B J Deller, Marbella, Spain

What is this obsession with rewarding failure and propping up ill companies?
Let them fail. This country will not be ruined if they fail, that's the point. What on earth is really behind this mania for bailing out banks? We don't need to "keep credit flowing".
We need this recession. It's good.

Tom Franklin, London, UK

Let the banks fail. Norther Rock, HBOS cannot be relied upon any more. Debt in this country is 4 time the national income and this has been accumulated by Brown policy as chancellor and primeminister. Give the people the tax breaks so they can reduce their debt.

steve tea, manchester, cheshire

The NatWest 3s' feet never touched the ground when they were extradited to America during Enron yet the Americans who rated junk as AAA securities and caused this sorry mess remain untouched and unmentioned.

Chris, London, UK

the whole point of recessions is to divert resources into different directions away from sectors where the demand has diminished. It also cuts volume of credit that was inflated beyond the economy's capacity to provide savings. Failure to understand this is economic illiteracy

Heinz Geyer, London,

Nobody wants damage to the private firms and companies that make up the economy. The banks need to be encouraged to lend to them. On the other hand, nobody wants to see idiot irresponsible house purchasers bailed out with cheap loans paid for by the taxpayer. Oh except Labour has an election ...

Robert, London, UK

Cut out the middle men and start mortgage lending to taxpayers directly. Let the banks deal with companies. Instant social housing available in the event of repossession. Government may not be as 'efficient' as private companies but they certainly wouldn't be paying multi-million pound bonuses.

Paul, Brighton, England

If the government had left us taxpayers with more of our money
our borrowing needs would have been less.
Tighter rules for bank lending would have perhaps slowed the rate of the inflationary housing rise.
Let the crash happen in the housing sector. Our weak pound
will shore up the assetts price

colin macKinnon, weybread, england

Given it's the taxpayers money here, I think it's time we had a say in where we want it spent, and that includes Browns' pet foreign policies and the oppressive internal ones, such as the national database, on-line & phone use spying, spy in the sky charge-by-the-mile car use and ID Cards etc.

Jane, Cambridge,

The UK Government does not have the money to guarantee the Bank's losses of 400% of GDP, with assets a fraction of that.
They should not be supported, money should go to set up new banks instead.
Retrospective taxes of 95% of bonuses paid since 2001 for those responsible would help pay for this.

David Martin, Bristol, UK

We must prevent a disorderly contraction of our debt based money supply, otherwise it's the general public who will suffer a terrible period of pain. Boosting the money supply is absolutely sensible. Then we can talk about Monetary Reform and a permanent money supply.

Max B, Stockton on Tees,

Darling =Chancellor
Brown -p Prime Chancellor!
get real- can anyone imagine Brown waiting to see what 'alister' might do....'before i make a decision!

mike, gloucester, uk

Businesses,large,medium and small require help not pumping more money into banks.If this type of action prevails then the millions of savers will start to withdraw their money-where will they put it-perhaps the mattress is a safer place

Robert, Caen, France

Shan Morgan
Quote"Alternatively simply pay equal shares direct to EVERYONE AS TOKENS only to pay off property or finance debt"

And what happens if you have been prudent and dont have any debt?

Maybe what they should do is reward those working and CUT TAXES rather than those that have borrowed

Peter, Aldershot, UK

What happens if this second 'injection' of billions also fails?
Will more of the taxpayers money used again?
A third 'injection' of money? or a fourth? or even a fifth?

Mark, Yorkshire,

Don't give more money to banks - start building council houses because they are desperately needed. Employ all the construction workers who are currently struggling to find work. This will reduce unemployment and boost confidence.
If property prices & rents drop people will have more to spend!

John, London, UK

As the owners of the financial infrastructure, the banks are holding all of us hostage. This is what it's all about.

Peter, Brampton , Canada

This clamour for more interest rate cuts & more bank lending is the usual short-sighted panic reaction that expects immediate results. The MPC always seem to make the same mistake. They should know that interest rate cuts take time to have an effect, yet they give in to the clamour and go too far.

Robert Cookson, Milton Keynes, UK

contagion now spreading throughout whole economy leading to deflation -falling asset prices and debt burden ( in real terms) increasing. The only people to benefit will be those with savings and no assets. All Central banks printing presses need to go into overtime urgently to avoid disaster

john w, birmingham, UK

Its quite obvious the banks are hoarding our money for themselves so perhaps its time for the BOE to bypass them by lending direct to the general public and businesses that need the money to operate.

Harry, London, UK

The major banks have kept to their agreement to continue lending at 2007 levels. The problem lies in the fact that many smaller and specialised lenders and foreign lenders have disappeared.It is impossible for the banks to increase their lending to fill this gap so the economy must shrink.

Andrew, Prague, Czech Republic

More money from the taxpayer so that the banks can pay bonuses is not the answer. The BoE should immediately start lending to businesses - not think about it - do it. Cut out the greed-driven middlemen on the high street who are dragging the country down.

David Smith, Stourbridge, UK

why should the banks take a blind bit of notice of Brown?He's helpless.He cannot nationalise them as he has no money and cannot borrow any more.

peter c, Devizes, Wessex

I thought Gordon Brown had saved the world? Mr. Darling seems to acknowledge that the world still needs saving. I guess arrogance is its own reward.

Tom, Lewisville, TX, USA

If the Government really want to improve the lot of the tax payer why don't they buy back the £100 billion of PFI (off balance sheet debt) for say £20billion.

They won't because they are so in love with Enron accounting practice because it would show just how much Brown has borrowed.

Paul, Lincoln, UK

I cannot believe that this government insists on pursuing actions which have evidently failed.
What is needed is legislation, the banks have our money and they are no longer self sufficient and so they need to concede to government intervention, not more hand outs.

Jo, Plymouth,

Brown & Darling are blowing up the bubble day by day. It's not burst yet but wait until it does - if you think they have brought a massive economic disaster on the UK after 11 years of failed policies, you ain't seen nothing yet! Labour has ruined this once united Kindgom and once great Britain!

Jon, Preston, England

Stop dropping the rates, it isn't working!

Raise VAT to 20% and remove all tax on savings, then people might just start to spend again.

Lesriv, London,

An election should be called so that we can oust Brown and his cronies. The haemoraging of taxpayers money needs to be stopped.
How can "La la la, I'm not listening, equate to saving the world?
Had Paulson in the US followed his conviction instead of following Brown, this catastrophe might belessbad

richie, washington DC, usa

The Libor rate has followed the base rate down to pre crisis levels.
The reason for slow lending is more demand than supply side now.
That will work it's way through during 2009.
In perspective, booms last about five times as long as busts.

Sid Holder, Brighton, UK

When will we stop believing Brown or Darling have a clue about finance? Neither has done a day's work in any related field in his life. Would you ask a passenger to fly a jet-liner? And be surprised when it nose-dived?

Mary, London,

Both the banks and their clients are equally at fault for stupid lending.
To those who propose the collapse of the banking system, take yourselves off to the Congo for example, there are very few banks to disturb you there.

Sid Holder, Brighton , UK

I get the impression that this government is rotten to the core and that one push or scandal or suchlike will see it gone. Brown looks ill to me.

peter c, Devizes, Wessex

The country needs a painful reset in the amount of money it spends. The illusion over the past few years has lead to a bloated and inefficient state. We need a quick sharp correction in public and private spending to get the ecomony back to where it would have been BEFORE the explosion of credit.

Peter, Swindon, UK

Why can the Bank of England not lend direct to large businesses where appropriate? This will by-pass the other banks and inject some confidence into the system. At the moment the commercial banks are just intermediaries in the government's economic plans for recovery.

Chris Wilders, St Meme-les-Carrieres, France

Brown has destroyed the UK economy- worse than Healey. It was HIS tripartate banking regulatory scheme that failed to regulate & HIS 11 yr borrowing binge which has driven £ down to parity with the Euro. Lower interest rates won't work: nil tax for savers is needed to encourage money INTO the banks.

Donna Walker, Effingham, England

I know the Government's agenda is to create inflation to reduce its own debt burden but when the inflation genie is out of the bottle it will be impossible to control. A generation of middle class people like myself will then lose the value of their life savings due to hyperinflation. What can I do?

Haroon Abbasi, London,

Everyone knows what's wrong but no one seems to have an alternative to what the govenment is doing. letting the banks go bust is not an alternative. If anyone has the answer plesae tell us. I am tired of all this emotive wailing from all sides.

What does George Osborne think?

Stuart Gerrard, Derby, UK

I agree with BillK,

Heads should roll for what some bank employees have so far been allowed to get away with. Even if some of these people are sacked they can sit back and live off their huge bonuses while thousands of people are let go with statutory redundancy.

Disgraceful.

Keith, London, UK

Barclays is just about to embark on another round of redundancies in London and Knutsford. Who cares to bet that those jobs lost will go off to India? Why are we bailing out banks that stick 2 fingers up at the taxpayer? And dont tell me Barclays didnt take any money - it benefits from it.

Caroline D, warrington, UK

why not just have a competing nationalised bank who lends to businesses and the general public? Seems to me if the private banks don't want to do it, then a publicly owned lending and savings bank should be set up or created via northern rock or the post office

Will, Surbiton, Blighty

Cut taxes on income and employment and put the 2.5% back on VAT. Government cannot spend the money to better effect and even if many people save it still goes to the banks at lower cost than the government demands for their loans. Low savings levels have exacerbated the problems in the UK.

Mike, Birmingham,

Maybe we should hand over running the country to the self appointed experts on here they will get us out of this mess.

Gary, Cardiff, UK

With a recession upon us and insolvency soaring why should banks open the lending floodgates - they’re just going to end up with more bad debt and need more government money. We’re in a full blown recessionary cycle that did not start and will not end with banks lending more.

Mr Badger, Swansea, UK

The Government promised that the recession will be over by mid-2009; we should judge them on that promise. If Blair's legacy was Iraq, surely Brown's legacy is boom and bust.

Andy, Oxford, UK

I can't understand why the money is not put into all sorts of important infrastructure projects which need doing-thereby stimulating local economies/the technology sector/construction etc. this is madness what is proposed

graham, london,

Capitalism. If a business gets things badly wrong it goes under, unless it's owned or run by "friends" of the govt, in which case it's a "preferred" business & gets bailed out.

Why are we allowing this to continue? If the govt won't go voluntarily let's push it out. CREDIT CRUNCH REVOLT aka 666.

isobel, ashford, uk

What hypocrisy - brown wants banks to lend at previously disastrous levels, but at the same time become more stable and increase core ratios. You cant have both!

If increased lending is the real way to go, Brown should use the two banks at his disposal - Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley.

Andrew, Leeds, UK

Sam if only it was that simple, to let them go to hell would mean letting them crash and burn and savers losing their money and debt becoming valid for immediate repayment (mortgages, loans etc) this would ultimatley mean the government would have to take over and we will be 100% liable as taxpayers

Andrew Smith, Aylesbury, UK

How many times will Captain Darling continue with a policy that doesn't work ? He is not really a reincarnated general from the Somme era is he ?

Martin, London,

Darling's present dilemma illustrates clearly his (and Browns) lack of understanding or control of the situation.
They have been urging the banks to lend at 2007 levels. That would surely set in motion a new boom and bust cycle.
The banks need to establish proper procedures for responsible lending

Peter, Broadstairs, Kent

If only this daft so called "Government" would heed these posts. The Banks got themselves into this mess; You, I and all other taxpayers should not bail them out. Think of the people; let the Banks go to hell where they belong.

Sam Wright, Coventry, UK

Why not start council or government bank loans and mortgages at lower interest rates instead of pumping money into Banks. Business loans could be provided for UK companies much like the export loans provided by the EXIM bank but for home trade. Increased returns would end up in the banks in any case

Micad, Chelsea, London

Gordon Brown is going to go down in history as the most disastrous UK 'leader' in 100 years. He may still be telling everyone that he is saving the world; in reality he is wrecking the country, its economy and its future.

J Jenkins, York,

Only banks know the true scale of their debt. If CONFIDENCE cracks we will see those most sick banks fail sooner or later, regardless of taxpayers support.

G Tapper, Kenton, UK

Everything this government does makes the situation worse.. They are incompetent.The billions pumped into a few banks so far has been a waste of time.Cutting interest rates to zero will also be a massive mistake too.The UK is circling the drain. Ive always voted Labour prior, but not any more.Never.

Mark, London, UK

37 billion of taxpayers hard earned cash at risk and more necessary? Nothing should be done until the banks in question come clean and their real financial positions clearly stated. Then a more informed decision on a solution can be made. How did Darling invest 37Bn of our cash without clarity?

robert, hartlepool, cleveland

I'm still staggered when labour say that the tories have no answers, when in fact their bank/business loan guarantee seems exactly what we need right now, and the labour vat reduction is completely a waste of money which serves no purpose.

Bill, Glasgow,

For goodness sake let them go under. The debts will be sold to efficient banks and a new generation of lenders will arise. Please do not throw anymore good money after bad...

DT, Kettering, UK

£37Bn hasn't fixed the banking system. Banks will only lend on a limited basis using strict terms. If the banks wont play ball and everyone believes it's the right thing, then use our own bank - Northern Rock. It's all set up ready, just needs the funding. Others will either play or leave the game.

Christopher P, Manchester, UK

govt should nationalise one bank fully, then use that to lend on a market basis. when the other banks see they're losing sensible business, they'll start to "compete" with the state bank and resume lending. much cheaper than a bail out, and more market oriented. the bank can later be privatised.

stephen, china, china

It seems like a bad dream but it is all too real. Headless chickens running around doing something, anything, to give the impression of activity. Got to convince the British people that they are doing something, anything.

The scary thing is that faced with any choice they always take the wrong one.

Keith Warhurst, Caithness, Scotland.

The government created this mess - they treat everyone as an imbecile and unable to make a decision.
The government should butt out of private businesses and private lives to enable our country to run again. They keep saying that they are listening, they are obviously not.

Helen, Wigan, UK

Well, IF we have to bail out the banks yet again, I trust our politicians and bureaucrats will ensure that WE get what WE want from them this time - normal lending to mortgage applicants and business. Otherwise, set up a national bank owned by the taxpayers. We are funding the sector anyway.

Trevor, Ip, UK

Stop trying to screw around with market forcesa and let it unwind. Labour have been boiling this mess up for years and now it just needs to blow up on its own. More and more lending will just make the bang bigger in the end.

Bill Roberts, Shipton, UK

Any 2nd injection MUST carry conditions - no bonuses, no repossessions. Don't mess it this time.

Alternatively simply pay equal shares direct to EVERYONE
AS TOKENS only to pay off property or finance debt.

The banks still get it - but so do we. Stimulates economy twice over they lend, we buy.

Shan Morgain, UK, UK

Oh my, it would be crazy for the taxpayer to be lumbered with the banks' toxic assets. The £12.5bn VAT cut was totally misguided, the focus should have been entirely on keeping businesses going and thereby jobs going, by providing credit guarantees. If people have jobs they can pay their debts.

DavidK, London, UK

Its clear that Brown's attempts at chucking taxpayers money into the banking system has failed miserably in its remit, we as a nation yet again stand on the brink with a hoplessly inept government at the helm willing to throw yet more taxpayers cash down the toilet, a General Election is a must now!

Chris Ryder, Banbury, UK

The problem for the UK is that for all 'experienced' Brown's big talk, none of his actions have worked. He rushed around looking active, spending our money and attended world conferences, hoping to fool people into thinking he knew what he was doing. We now have the do anything, achieve nothing PM

jim, Swindon,

This Goverment won't be happy until they replicate what Germany did all those years ago ........ was it 1 U.S. Dollar = 4,200,000,000,000 Deutsche Marks (4.2 Trillion) after "the Crash"?
By devaluing our currency the cost of imports will sky rocket, and we will economically "die".

R. Maddock , Rayleigh, Essex, UK

A freeze on public spending? No, I can't see that working. It's nothing to do with the Government (although who voted Gordon Brown in, eh?) but rather a global collapse of banking caused by the greed of the Banks!

Jesse, York, UK

The Government's policy is a shambles. They want the banks to lend when they cannot and urge to repeat the mistakes of the last 5 years. They have wrecked the economy or let it be wrecked. Now they are debasing the pound with debt.

We need an election. If Brown had a shred of decency he would go

Chris Jones, London, UK

We have lost the connection between real capital and money. The Govt is just printing the stuff with nothing to back it up, expect to see a quick boom followed by inflation and a bigger bust. A repeat of 1987 to 1990.

Ian, Tokyo, Japan

This is unacceptable. Reducing interest rates does not help anyone as savers like myself will simply pull our savings and de-capitalise the banks. My money is not going to help me buy a house it seems, I might as well invest directly in struggling but viable businesses.

john p-t, reigate,

Printing money until '2007 lending levels' return (which is appears to be the direction they are going) will crash the currency and bankrupt the country.

The biggest threat we face is comes from our own government.

Tom Brewer, Slough, UK

So the government plans to use our tax money to take the 'toxic' assets away from the banks and let them start over with a clean sheet.
But.... shouldn't the bank directors and managers hand back the millions in bonuses and commissions that they got from dealing in these 'toxic' assets originally?

BillK, London, UK

Tough for Darling being the monkey when the organ grinder is still turning the handle.

What a patsy.

Philip C, Wallingford, Oxon

its time for the people to decide, there is no confidence in the government and a general election should be called in the meantime a freeze on public spending and mps pay and expenses

r.horne, lima, peru