Sir, - After the Bank of England reduced its interest rate to 5.5 per cent last week, the Nationwide Building Society responded by reducing its variable mortgage rate to 6.45 per cent. It is therefore operating on a 0.95 per cent margin.
In this country the base rate is now 3 per cent, yet the various lending institutions are all operating on margins averaging 2.5 per cent.
Why? - Yours, etc., John Maher,
Grange Heights, Waterford.