BoE ‘should have lowered base rate further’

The Bank of England should have lowered its base rate of interest by more than the quarter-point it did this month, it has been claimed.

According to the online mortgage comparison firm mform.co.uk, many of the people who are struggling desperately to become debt free around the country will feel no tangible benefit from the latest cut in the base rate.

In making its case, the company has insisted that many of the UK’s biggest money lenders are unlikely to reduce their own interest rates and in some cases have already increased them since the bank’s most recent base rate announcement.

“All the evidence shows that consumers are suffering, lenders margins are being squeezed and a 0.25 per cent cut is not enough to help change the mood,” said Eamonn Rice, chief executive of mform.co.uk.

The British population pay a combined total of close to £94.6 billion in interest payments relating to personal debts on an annual basis, according to Credit Action.