Chancellor asks mortgage lenders to pass on to homeowners benefits of interest rate cuts

Posted under General by Michael

Chancellor Alistair Darling has asked leading mortgage lenders to pass on to homeowners, benefits of recently effected interest rate cuts. The move, as and when it happens, will act as a big boost to the property market, and buy to let market, in particular. The Bank of England (BoE) in its latest move has cut UK interest rates to 5 per cent from 5.25 per cent in a bid to spur the economy amid the global credit crunch.

Mr. Darling stated it was (high) time for lenders to ‘play their part’ after being assisted by the Bank of England (BoE) pumping £15bn into the markets amid the current credit crisis. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated he as well as the chancellor would talk to the leading lenders regarding measures to boost the mortgage market. He also urged banks to ‘come clean’ about their prospective bad debts.

Mr Darling made this appeal, while speaking to the BBC in Washington for attending a meeting of G7 finance ministers. He faced immediate attack from the Tories. Shadow chancellor George Osborne stated: “Everybody wants to see the cost of living come down for homeowners, but when it comes to the decisions Alistair Darling has control over, he has (actually) raised the cost of living – with tax rises in his most recent budget. He should be showing leadership to alleviate the burden on people in these tough times instead of commenting from the side lines.”