However, banks are still offering bonds from six months to two years enabling savers to earn anything from 3% (Barclays) to 4.5% ( Bank of Cyprus )
Why are these never mentioned ?

John Smith, London, UK

So Rose is OK if responsible savers earn (note "earn", not receive unpaid-for benefits) less to bail out irresponsible borrowers - including HMG?

And it's not a dismissive "£6 less". From a safely obtainable 6% to 1.5% - that's a 75% fall in income. Think on that in your old age & be dismayed!

Ian, New Malden, Surrey

It is all very well trying to get savers to spend their money. My savings are there for repairs to my house when necessary, not for spending on stuff I dont need. My savings went into foreign banks ages ago. Why accept a pittance?. I am an OAP so have to be prudent.

Mabs, Northants, UK

You reap what you sow. Let them all collapse under their own weight. Masters of the universe they are not.

Joey, London, UK

Banks/regulators got us into this mess. Now they are told to lend responsibly. That means less. The UK government is charging them 12% for the money we loaned to them. If they only get 3-4 % from new mortgages no wonder they wont lend. The US gov is charging 6%. Go figure

george, london,

Pull your savings money out of the banks NOW --- and then invest in gold, platignum etc.

Why should good savers bail out the silly lenders & borrowers

Phil, Preston,

Well Rose, here's hoping that there are plenty of tax paying, mortgage payers to keep you afloat when you are a pensioner!

Maggie, Reading, UK

Is Rose, W.Sussex serious?Those pensioners have already paid a lifetime of tax and mortgages ,and are not being kept 'afloat' by her.They are the responsible victims of this situation - What a joke! Why didn't they spend, spend ,spend like all the others and then get bailed out by the government

Sue, Athens, Greece

The banks seem to be crying foul again when the interest rates are going down. falling interest rates will dent profit margins for the banks as people who have tracker mortgages will obviously benefit from falling rates.
strangely the apr on my credit card is rising even though rates are falling

ali, leeds, united kingdom

I am sorry that pensioners with good savings have £6 less to spend. but current mortgage payers who earn middle income wage, have to spend out a lot more to keep those pensioners afloat. It is the turn of the taxpayer and mortgage payer to have respite on their outgoings

rose, West Sussex, England

Ivestec run an account which daily averages the top 5 UK savings accounts interest rates, but you need £25000 to open it! ING are running an instant access account at 5% and is very easy to set up with a 2.5% bonus rate for the 1st year.If you do some research you can find some good savings deals.

Tom , Portsmouth, UK

If banks are desperate for depositors money to enable lending to flow than who is forcing them to follow BOE in cutting their savings rates?? I can bet that if there was an 6-7% deposit account available on the market, people would queue to put their money there! Banks are just too greedy!

Maciej, Hove,

I don't believe the Moneyfacts analysis. Saving is on the rise as people are finally realising that their property "wealth" is not the nest egg it once appeared.
People won't go overseas with savings now because your pound won't buy much anywhere else anymore.

Bruce McGinn, London, UK

Banks are reluctant to pass on BoE rate cuts when it comes to setting their mortgage rates-i.e. a BoE rate cut does not 'force' them to cut their lending rates.Similarly, these same banks aren't being 'forced' to cut their savers rates.If they want to attract depositors,they must offer a fair return

Adrian, Hatfield, UK

As most banks operate a system whereby they 'manage' their own lending rates, any cuts are almost pointless. Until there is legislation to ensure that all lending is linked to base rate no real change will be seen. This is even more relevant to credit cards with the very high unlinked rates charged.

Maurice Horwood, Bexleyheath, England

I wrote to The Times yesterday but unfortunately my letter was not published re Anatole Kaletsky's article. I have always been prudent, never lived in debt and saved for retirement and now face an enormous drop in income to bail out those who borrowed too much.

Sheila Matheson, Woodford Green, UK

"The lowest interest rate in the history of the Bank of England will deter savers from depositing money..."

Well, duh. Depositing money in British banks, anyway. So yet another vital function will go overseas. A few years ago we were going to live off our wonderful financial sector. And now?

Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,

All of the best savings rates are with foreign owned banks and that is where all my savings are (spread to keep within the FSCS limit of course).

People without deposits or without a high enough income should not be allowed a mortgage anyway.

Steve, Coventry,

I thought that was the whole point. Make saving the less attractive alternative to convince people of the relative merits of spending over saving thus stimulating the economy.

Tom, Okazaki , Japan

Surely the whole point of the base rate is that it is a target achieved by the BofE buying/selling money in the market and therefore lowering the rate means that banks will just source more of their capital requirements from the BofE instead of savers - so who cares?

Jeremy, Southampton, UK