Nationwide is one of the few Building Societies that has not relied on libor wholesale borrowing. Most of it's funds come from their savers.
To expect savers to bail out profligate borrowers is nonsense.
At the moment it is better to withdraw cash and buy gold. NOW That won't help anyone will it

David Nammory, Liverpool,

Of course the NW should not pass on further rate cuts. If they did then depositors would probably receive interest of 0%! Why therefore would they leave their money with NW? If the money was moved then they would not be able to lend as much to prospective home buyers. Catch 22 or what?

ian, Maidstone,

Keep out Darling and Brown I'm one of the savers who haven't acted stupidly. I don’t remember anybody helping me when interest rates where at 16% in the 80’s. I lived within my means. It’s about time savers where considered which is precisely what Nationwide are doing.

Dave Bridge, Southport, U.K

Sanity at last! Well done Nationwide!

With the recent comments from the Euro finance ministers it seems Labour can no longer hide behind their infamous 'blame the yanks and the banks' spin.

Brown now needs to cut public sector jobs and focus them instead on real wealth creation work in the UK.

paul j. weighell, purley, england

The real issue is not the collar rate, but the banks/ building socieities willingless to actually lend money to the public and each other. Once lending commences again, so will the influx of money into various business sectors.

chris, london, uk

At last a banker behaving sensibly and not biting off the hand that will have to continue to feed it.

Pleased to see somebody appreciates savers.

David, Hampton,

The headline should read ;

" Nationwide increases it margins ".

Rates on notice accounts below the banks ?.

HSBC 3%
Nationwide 1.5%.

What's going on ?

N. Walker., Bromsgrove., Worcs.

Anyone with half a brain would give people money back by reducing taxes and cutting their own expenditure. Do you need to be a complete idiot to work for Labour? If so where do I apply.

Chris, London,

Nationwide funding for trackers is determined by money market conditions. As money becomes cheaper, they can lend it out at cheaper rates. They have an ethical obligation to pass on savings on to borrowers, not a legal one. The protection for savers is a ruse, given they have already cut rates.

Alex Brassey, London,

Well done Nationwide - perhaps a return to some values.
As a pensioner I need to supplement my income with the interest from my lifetime savings. For me the chancellor's vat changes are irrelevant as my disposable income this year will be lower following the rate reductions announced to date.

Alan, Southampton,

Well done Nationwide. Careful responsible people who save need supporting now more than ever. If mortgage contracts have a 2% collar or whatever in then borrowers and the government should EXPECT that collar to apply. Didn't these people read their contracts before signing them?

ChasH, Letchworth,

Nationwide are only doing what good building societies have always done and that is to lend savers money at sensible rates of interest so that the building society can pay a decent level of interest to its savers. In between they make some profit for themselves.Easy really and good on the Nationwide

Robert, Caen, France

“The Chancellor has repeatedly made clear that he expects lenders to do their best to help their customers through these difficult times,” the aide said.
Well, as savers are the majority of customers then the best way to help them is to keep rates high.

david webb, bournemouth, uk

If Darling and Brown want Nationwide and others to cut interest rates for borrowers they should ensure that savers get a reasonable rate of return on the savings which support the borrowings AFTER INFLATION IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. So abolish the income tax on savings!!. Easy.

Alan Haugh, Reading, Berks

Government regulates but not runs the banks. It should give banks a certain space to run business other than indirectly order banks to do what the government wants.

Darren, London,

How did anybody ever think a bank or building society could afford to pay interest to savers? By charging interest on loans, of course - with a differential between savings and loan rates, to pay its running costs. Don't Brown and/or Darling understand elementary finances???

Russell, UK,

As a pensioner who has been fiscally responsible and saved so that I can have a reasonable quality of life in old age the interest rate cuts have hit me hard and now looking for more hours work to supplement the meagre income I have. Thank you Nationwide if you really do hold up those interest rate

Suzanne PIPER, Bricket Wood, St Albans, Hertfordshire

Nationwide never seemed to have difficulty raising their rates when interst rates went up. Can't have it both ways the Government should intervene.

Angela Taylor, Brighton,

Interest paid must always reflect the cost of money to the lender. As the BofE does not fund the Nationwide it cannot necessarily lend at that low rate. Moreover, NBS has to pay savers an attractive rate, or they will withdraw money to the deteriment of borrowers. When will HMG accept this?

Richard, UK,

What a cheek from a grasping government in denial. First of all they blame the US (everything was otherwise going swimmingly, presumably forever) and now it's Nationwide, which is only following an agreed contract. But never mind - make them pay if it makes Labour look less culpable.

Stevie b., eastbourne,

it seems to me that most lenders have not passed on the full base rate cuts especially to anyone on variable mortgages, Yorkshire BS has only passed on half of the cuts so whats Alistair going to do about them not much i guess. More spin and no action so why bother cutting base rate further

andy, sheffield, yorks

So Nationwide has finally realised that it needs savers' deposits to finance its mortgages. Maybe other building societies will do the same and we will see savings rates rise again. They certainly need to, to halt the flow of currency out of the country.

Paul, Coventry,

at last a building society , who looks after its savers, i know where i would rather keep my money, this government dont care about the people who have not spent spent spent,

kay, london,

This is good news, Nationwide needs to protect Savers now.

John, London,

Savers should learn to look after themselves. If a saver has a pitiful saving rate, they should move their money immediately. If the bank reduces a saver's interest rate, the money should be moved immediately. Once the banks observe the outflow of capital, they will maintain competitive rates.

Chuck, London,

While ex-buidling societies have gone under, it's nice to see Nationwide still practising common sense. By now we should know they have been sensible all along.

Tony, Islington, London, UK

The Government wants the banks and building societies to recapitalise, but also lower interest rates, they can't do both. Who gains from making banks the fall guys? Brown and Darling. Ah who am I kidding, I hate the banks as well.

Ronnie Corbett, Singapore,

Why don't the Government just start lending themselves, thereby offering the rates they want, removing the 'profit' for the banks and taking the risks themselves?

A bit left-wing? Can't get much more than the past few months!

Tim, Leicester,

Interesting times. Who do you trust? Nationwide, the only real building society, or the Government?

Michael, West Midlands,

It is about time somebody took some action in support of savers, many of whom are old and rely on their interest to supplement their pensions. The government have clearly abandoned savers and their only thought appears to be to help the borrowers, so this action by the Nationwide is a welcome step.

john, Swindon, uk

Of course, the Nationwide will, nevertheless, reduce its interest payments to depositors. Banks & building societies stink!

James Wheeldon, Grange-over-Sands, UK