In spite of the Bank of England decision to cut interest rates from 5.25% to 5% last Thursday, mortgage lenders failing to pass on interest rate cut to borrowers.
This is increasing speculation that the Bank of England has lost control over the actual interest rates faced by borrowers.
Alistair Darling, commenting in Washington, says that he will do everything in his power to resolve the mortgage crisis, for first-time buyers and the economy at large.
He also pointed to an inevitable slowdown in house prices. Confidence in the mortgages market is at a low, and with lenders making mortgage more expensive despite base rate cuts, many borrowers are dreading remortgage costs when their fixed, tracker or variable rate deal comes to an end.