L&G calls for lower rates to be passed on when the MPC acts

Commenting on the Bank's forthcoming decision this week he said: "Over recent weeks it has become increasingly clear that the battle against inflation has now become a battle to prevent a deep and prolonged recession. The nasty cold that the banking, housing and financial services sectors have suffered from since 2007 has now evidently spread to many parts of the wider economy and it is time for the Bank to act in a decisive manner to mitigate recessionary risk."

He also called on lenders to play their part in following suit quickly: "Everyone can vividly see how tough funding is for lenders at the moment and margins certainly reflect this. The lending oversupply that, in part, contributed to the wider problems has now turned to a chronic undersupply, and with that comes the fine balance in a contracted market between prudent lending and profiteering. The hope is that lenders will play their part in helping to ease the pain for homeowners and businesses and reduce their rates in line with any adjustment to bank base rate, and quickly.