Banks are not charities? A couple of them now seem to be government departments. Banks are supposed to be risk managers and they failed, comprehensively. Are they incapable of a bit of humility when they're being bailed out by taxpayers? Their shareholders could have supervised, but didn't.

Geoffrey, Sydney,

Can Darling really be this stupid? The banks don't fund themselves at the base rate, so BoE rate cuts are only relevant if banks' cost of capital (LIBOR) falls in line with them. Anyone with access to newspapers or TV should be well aware that this has not been happening.

johnny, london,

People should take money out of banks that will not pass on further interest rate cuts to consumers & businesses. Its their greed that has created the crisis. If banks want funds they should ask their directors to fork out from their pockets. Their money is probably in the Cayman Islands.

Robert, San Sebastian, Spain

One of the several things I don't get is that Burt and Mathewson presided over banks that proved unable to manage risk (which is really what banks are for). So why is it they get any kind of say now?

Geoffrey, Sydney,

Why do people think that low interest rates would mean that banks have to lend irresponsibly? It is quite possible for them to lend money at a low interest rate to good risks and refuse to lend at all to bad risks.

Mark Gordon, Slough, Berkshire

The banks have always been greedy,l notice that the executives dont take a pay cut.
Maybe our chancellor should take away the funding from these overbloated organisations and if not ,complete the nationalisation of them,then let them work for the public whose taxes have kept them afloat.

Louis, Blandford, Dorset

While Gordon Brown is charging the banks at money lender's rate of 12% he shows no shame in asking for undue favours from them. Having forced the banks to recapitalise in a dead market he has destroyed their share value thereby killing the goose that has been laying golden eggs for him for so long.

Harish, Ilford, Essex,

This is surely a case in which the National interest should over-ride the business interest of the banks. It is not in the National interest for the banks to drive sound business to the wall, or even their own if they trigger a deflationary spiral. They should therefore be compelled.

david fleming, newbury, berkshire

All western govts must take 25% holdings in ALL of their financial institutions without compensation by additional share issue by law & have a director on every board. Government will then be able to insist on right practices like passing on cuts & govt wont be able to dodge their responsibilites.

Natalie King, Birmingham, UK

It is patently preposterous for Mr Brown to posture preen and masquerade whilst wandering around the globe, like some incumbent savior of mankind, when he (and his ilk) got us into this all too sorry and predictable catastrophic mess, which we (the Western world's taxpayers) will now have to pay for

Duncan Gormley-Lake, Bournemouth., Dorset.

Secure the bailouts on the bank directors homes...make an attachment to thier pension .....put a charging order on their savings....force them to be accountable to the conditions on which the bailout was given or they lose personally.
Set up a Govt mortgage desk via post Offices or Job Centres

Steve , Woking,

Only Barclays and HSBC Have not passed the interes rate cut's to it's consumers, why don't we all dicide to move our bussines,mortgages etc,to the banks that have passed on, the interes rate cut off 1.5% only than maybe they would fill the pain that we are,Only than they would consider otherwis.

Agosi, London, UK

Yes, punish all those reckless savers who dared to put their savings into banks,they got us into this mess,let them get us out of it by lower interest rates,preferably 0%.

David G, Altrincham, England

the more one hears about Lloyds takeover of Hbos the more dubious it sounds - if there has been loan aid to Hbos from lloyds then it makes their requiremnt to receive government aid even more suspicious.

Jeff Harvey, bristol,

Here is a simple solution. Withdraw your money, close your credit cards. If you can't afford to pay cash, you can't afford it anyway. Withdraw retirement investments. Then, move all this money into banks in a country that does business fairly.

Frances, Texas, USA

Have we forgotten about the buisnesses that need cheaper and constant credit to keep operating in these difficult times.
It's not just about cheaper mortgage payments.If your job goes,that's the least of your worries .

David Cross, Hull,

The Government should come down hard on the banks, their excesses got us into this mess and all of them are being helped by extra measures by the BofE to improve liquidity; their role is crucial in combating the recession. They should not be given a choice on future rate reductions.

Simon Hicks, Burgess Hill, UK

In Summer 2007 Darling was proposing that more long-term fixed rate mortgages should be made available. If that had ever come to fruition, there would be even more people paying over the odds & in penury, as interest rates decline. The government does not have a clue what it is doing.

David, London, UK

Imagine you have a relative with debt problems. You offer to clear their debt provided they get help and don't do it again. In this case, the government has paid of the debts, but on the provision that the relative with the problem immediately gets back into as much debt as possible.

Graham, Wetherby,

Does the greed of the Banks have no level? the Tax Payer (us) has just paid handsomely to bail these scum out of the mess that they created with the Governments blessing yet still they remain steadfastly unwilling to give anything back...you have to love them!

Mark F., Gt.Yarmouth.,

To Colin of Shrewsbury - I am a branch manager- So you think cutting overheads is a new concept? - I would like to see you try and run a business with too few staff who are shouted out and spoken down to on a daily basis because the customer doesn't want to wait to be served. - and what is a bonus?

David, Ipswich, Suffolk

Artifically generating revenue from worthless product resulted in Enron executives going to prison in the US. Why doesn't the same apply to bankers? It's all fraud in my opinion.

John, Falkirk, UK

"The banks have warned the chancellor they are “not charities”."

Fair enough, so why did they go begging to the Chancellor for taxpayers' money? Withdraw that "charity", and let them suffer the consequences.

Alastair, London, UK

No one knows yet what the existing rate cut effect will be, so why talk about an unknown quantity ? Imagine your in a future depression with a 2% interest rate and with most countries on a lower rate... Although it be a bit too late now, the banks are acting responsibly.

M Walker., Nr Bromsgrove, Worcs

There are lots of businesses out there tightening their belts as sales fall. Burdened with worsening overdraft rates/ charges as the banks rebuild balance sheets. However the banks are still paying bonuses and generous executive packages for failure. If the banks want to recover they must economise.

Andrew, Cheshire,

New Labour encouraged the reckless lending habits of the banks in order to improve their popularity. The result - a greedy part of the population who borrowed and spent far beyond their means. As a saver why should I bail out these people?

Dan, London,

Lending at artificially low rates to people who could not afford it is what got us into this mess. The government trying to force banks to do the same again isn't a solution.
To the suggestion that the banks close branches to reduce overheads - do you remember the backlash last time they tried?

Dan, London,

Can the financial system support the previous levels of credit availability? Can the banks lend money on the basis of self-certification or high income multiples on an indefinite basis? Unless creditors are rewarded for the risk the answer is clearly no.

Costas, Cyprus,

What are 'The Banks' exactly. The bailout has saved savers from losing their money, tens of thousands of jobs, shareholders from losing all of their investments and the Labour party from electoral defeat. This was a bailout for the country, not for 'The Banks'.

Michael Jones, Leeds,

The reason we are in this mess is simply that over the past ten years our economy has been fuelled solely on debt. We don't manufacture anything of substance, we import everything, and our salvation that was the service industries has been offshored. The remedy is a housing market collapse.

Laurence, Chichester, UK

Please - we don't want another deal like Barclays.......

N Reed, Truro, UK

Is the government making political capital based on the public's misunderstanding of interest rates? Reducing base rates does not bring down banks cost of funding to 3%, it merely reduces the cost of one component in their total sources of funds. In the meantime default risks have risen.

N Reed, Truro, UK

Lending rates were actually low because banks could access cheap market funds, no longer available. So merely reducing the bank rate does not reduce their average cost significantly but over time should. Right now they need to get back to a workable operating model.

Nat, New Malden, UK

There is nothing to report in the super Tuesdays we had however the noise I hear from everyplace is there are no jobs in USA and UK. What we wanted was the Tuesdays but we forgot we have many days in a year and these some few Tuesdays come in 8 years and now may be 4 year. What we have to see is what Obama can do the turn the pages of the calendar for all, the USA, rich and poor.

Firozali A. Mulla , Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

The bail outs were not an act of charity - they are loans for which the govt is charging 12% interest. It only becomes a cost to the taxpayer if the banks fail to repay. A good way to ensure this would be force the banks into unsound business practices. This is just political point scoring by Labour

Rob, London,

Good for the banks.. They are only answerable to their shareholders and want profits to be maximized.

Hamad Lone, London, England

Brown and Darling will claim credit. However, where was Brown when it was clear that individuals and businesses were borrowing far too much cheap money on loans and cards? Staying quiet and getting tax revenue when leadership was needed. Brown is one of the main reasons we are in this mess!!

Andy, Worthing, UK

As a non public sector retiree, I manage within my means. But, my investments are down the tube. With bank rate cut, what little interest I earn on my will reduce. So why do I have to pay the price for lax government control over financial institutions and reckless borrowing of othes?

Nat, New Malden, UK

The government should give any future money direct to the UK population rather than the banks, then we can decide what to do with it. Putting the cash in the bank is one possibility, although I would prefer to do my bit and spend it, assisting business and helping to halt a recession.

Tim, London,

The Government by supporting the Banks that need help are in effect stabalizing the entire Banking system to the benefit of ALL the Banks. The Banks that are not taking Government funds are enjoying the stability resulting from the Government's actions and should play fair.

micad, Chelsea, uk

The banks don't trust each other and are taking axpayers' money to finance their greed. A cost of government funding must be passing on interest rate cuts to customers. Also the BoE should now stop giving liquidity to the interbank market if the banks do not use it as intended but keep it in-house.

Patrick Devlin, Taipei, Taiwan

Your all missing the point the goverment lent them money through a bidding auction with a limited fund amount each week. They bid the interest rates up past 6%, so the banks lend @ 6% plus there margin. - Its the goverment ripping you all off and hiding the truth.

Nick Jones, Harrisburg, USA

Its we savers who should march down to the banks,withdraw our money & hold it in cash for a month if the banks reduce the saving rates.
The Banks would cave in after a few days if the queues seen around the Northern Rock branches were repeated.Why should we pay the £130/ mnth ave. mortgage saving?

Irv Swerve, London E., UK

Well now rather than worrying about which institution is safest to hold our hard earned money, we now have to worry about which currency. If my equally panicked response this weekend is replicated across the UK then forget runs on the banks the MPC have just destroyed sterling.

john p-t, Reigate,

Wake up you tory boys, the banks are ripping you off big time. The top people in banking are nothing but criminals in suits. The Government should nationalise all of the banks and fire every last one of them,it needs too be made clear to them that the Government runs the Uk not the greedy bankers.

david.hambly, St Albans/ Hull, Uk

The arrogance of them! We bail them out after their mis-selling and reckless lending, during which every last banker and his/her mother took commissions and bonuses. As a litigation lawyer any opportunity I get to kick a bank for mis-selling I won't hesitate to do it!

Mike, London,

So they're not charities but they expect charity from the taxpayers? Hypocrites. Brown should immediately rescind the bail out money and if they fail, tough.

Paul Downes, Milton Keynes, UK

It is time to stop talking about 'the banks' and start focusing on the people who 'own the banks'. They are the people throwing families on the streets and sending businesses and the country to the wall. They do not care about you, I, or the country, they only care about maintaining greed.

David Smith, bath, ENGLAND

Tony, Midlothian, dont you mean

Lets go down to those banks that REDUCE their rates and withdraw all the money.

The government will soon start to panic then!!!!!!!

Savers and pension fund are being hit to allow some people to continue speding more than they earn.

L McKay, North Shields, UK

I think its time the banks were played at their own game - we all withdraw our cash from them on mass, if they refuse to give us it we enter THEIR premises like THEIR bailiffs do and take THEIR property. Or even better - enter the CEO's home maybe then they will listen? I doubt it........

Ian, York, UK

"we are not charities.” But the taxpayers are! Banks make me vomit, whining about their loss of profits after they gambled away billions of our money, they then expect those that can and have paid to pick up their tab at higher interest rates to refund their losses. Brass-necked one and all.

David Smith, Stoubridge, UK

The banks profits are our pensions. They need to be able to ay dividends to the pension funds so they can pay to us. The whole system is interrelated

Ben, London,

I have zip sympathy for the banks. Pillage when times are good, consistently pass on full base rate rises when the economy is booming and then weep into their gruel when times get tough. They're a disgrace. Press here in Oz reports no more champagne dinners. Aww.

Steve, Melbourne, Australia

it's very easy to point the finger at greedy banks, banking regs were dismantled in 1997 and FSA was introduced so that this insane feelgood boom could be stoked to win the 2005 election, RPI thrown out and CPI taken in, that alone could have prevented this.

Saving is for mugs now it seems.

gaz, aberdeen,

Lots of calls about the bail out here.

Dont forget the bail out was for lost funds ( effectively ), the banks now have to ensure they dont get into the same mess again ( which the government encouraged i would add ) - How do you do that ....... NO CHEAP CREDIT, the banks are being responsible

Peter, Aldershot, UK

Oh so their not charities..but they dont mind taking it from the good old tax payer. They seem blissfully unaware at this juncture that it was the general greed and missmanagement- by them- of the wests monetary affairs that put us here in the first place.

adam, ferndown, UK

only HSBC and Barclays are defying the cuts, and subsequently, they are the only banks at the meeting to avoid receiving any bail out and any of our tax, so surely they should be put in the same boat as other more reckless companies?

greg, egham, uk

do you not think that when the cause of the financial crisis was reckless bank lending, presipitated by the injections of liquidity that there is an element of ludicrousness to the chancellor ordering the banks to be more reckless? talk about not learning from history, we dont learn from now either.

will, grimsby, uk

This is easy to solve for governmet, if banks do not pass the cuts then e government should tax them for the amount and then pass this to the public through their personal tax codes,corporation tax etc

c patel, BOLTON, UK

Interest rates should reflect risk. just because the BOE says that they should be reduced 1% doesn't mean they should. After all, a recession is inherently a time of higher risk, so reducing interest rates at a time where everything is higher risk is simply foolish. I wouldn't if I were lending!

Michael, West Midlands,

I don't want them to reduce their interest rates. I don't have debts or a mortgage, I have savings! Why am I being punished for not being stupid enough to borrow money?

Ross, lancaster, uk

As a taxpayer i'm pretty unhappy to be subsidising the financial services sector, but i understand why it had to be done. However I most definitely do not want to be subsidising the mortgage market as well. Banks must be left to make a profit or we will never get out of this mess.

Alex, London,

The army of savers, pensioners and others who did not indulge in the credit binge have been mobilised. Await the backlash in the opinion polls. Brown presumes we are all foolish spenders.

As for the banks, one minute GB tells them to be more prudent then the next he's telling them to slash rates!

Paul, Grantham, UK

Welcome to snidy,deceitful Brown at his worst - Britain makes nowt and is leagues behind everyone except in banking whose irresponsibility he encouraged so he could gorge massively for a decade on their taxes - trying to lay down the law now for cheap political gain is obscene but typically Gordon

Bryan, Totland, UK

That is the reason why it was stupid move to save banks from their 'black holes'.
It was better to give loan of £20,000 to each citizen and let them take that money to the bank, or repair home, or repay mortgage, etc.
Now, money is gone to the greedy-gamblers-bankers and the crisis continues.

savo, london, uk

Perhaps a windfall tax will gee the pariahs up?

Dave Scratter, Romford,

Sack the boartd, the leaders of the banks,no pay-off, nationalise the banks completely and problem is solved. How darethey even think about what they have jsut said?Sack them and make sure they are blacklisted and no bank would employ them!

mark, Hull, England

Can we have our bail-out tax money back then?

nick, Sale, England

New Labour seems to believe that it can direct privately-owned banks to behave as though they were all nationalised. Brown did not intervene when he should have done 5-10 years ago to insist that lending rates were elevated way above base rate, to prevent a credit-fuelled Boom - the damage is done.

David, London, UK

They are Charity Cases, not Charities. Ungrateful recipients at that.

Ian , Vancouver, Canada

Things are tight for the Banks. The best way to help them is to put back tax on the bonuses they have paid out for, say, they last 5 years of 95%, payable by the executives, and prosecute many of them for criminal negligence.
That would raise quite a bit of money to lend back.
£16billion this year?

David Martin, Bristol, UK

If I were a banker with a pile of money I WOULD NOT lend it to a bunch of impoverished Brits at 3 percent with "UK Housing " as collateral.

I'd lend it to German Industrialists at 4 percent or else buy US equities!

HM Socialist Govt are manipulating the market for social reasons.

Pedro, Stratford,

This is CRAZY!

The Taxpayer is now the majority shareholder in RBS, Lloyds TSB and HBOS. As Majority Shareholder the Government on behalf of the People has the POWER to forcce these taxpayer funded banks to lower their rates in line with BoE Base Rate Changes. Come on Darling get a Grip! ACT NOW!

AARON TURNER, LONDON, UK

If the banks won't pass the savings on - then the Govt. should withdraw the resuce package to them and (a) let them go bust and (b) then impose a windfall tax on all bonuses paid to senior bank executives over the last 6 years. Maybe their position would chnage a bit!!!

Paul, Montrose, Scotland

Pathetic. Nothing a spot of National Service wouldn't cure for these naughty schoolboys. I for one am not prepared to lend them a telephone directory to shove down their trousers but I am more than prepared to administer the unprotected thrashing they so richly deserve.

Andrew Waldron, Bournemouth, UK

"Desperately low"? Does that mean the bank CEOs won't have sufficient millions to finance their overseas properties or London mansions?

And will they cut savings rates if the base rate gets reduced any more? Of course they will.

Joe, Manchester,

But hang on, I thought they were now, in fact, charities?

Patrick Dodds , London , UK

Well lets go down to those banks that refuse to reduce their rates and withdraw all the money.
They will soon start to panic then!!!!!!!

Tony, Midlothian, UK

The banks can't pass on any base rate cuts, serious savers are locked in at 6% for the next two to three years. Cut savings rates to base rate and you might just as well put your savings under the mattress with inflation at 5%.

Gordon Pye, Clitheroe, England

The arrogance of the UK banking sector is now balanced only by their haplessness. How dare they.

David Marusza, Cardiff, Wales, UK

It that is the case then cutting interest rates no longer works. The Bank of England is impotent.

Tom, London,

Browns big vote grab runs the risk of damaging the financial sector. I welcome a rate cut but if our financial sector is crippled what does Britain do? We make very little, we outsource customer services to the world all thats left is retail jobs. We need strong banks for jobs and prosperity.

rob, Derby, UK

Banks are not charities? Have we not just given them massive amounts of money to allow them to keep operating?

Peter, Cambridge,

The banks could always start closing unwanted branches if their margins are too small. Cutting overheads is a new concept for them (and reducing marketing and football support) but it can be done if necessary. Bonuses can also be given a miss while the business is in poor shape.

Colin, shrewsbury,