Choosing to hold off in January certaintly ruffled a few feathers, not least those of government officials including the Prime Minister and the Chancellor who had spoken of the need to ease mounting pressure on the UK economy.
However the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) moved in line with predictions by cutting rates on Thursday, albeit a month later than was hoped.
More conservative commentators claimed that the decision would not be as cut and dry and most were predicting, however Ray Boulger of John Charcol said that he never believed there was any real doubt about a rate cut.
"The MPC is effectively now running hard to stand still. The bad news for the UK’s mortgage borrowers is that bank rate cuts have increasingly less of an influence on their pockets, at least in the short term," he said.
Nicholas Leeming, major client director at propertyfinder.com, said that, as with every rate cut, it was a step in the right direction.
"The economy is crying out for lower borrowing costs. Consumers are deserting the high street and the housing market, one of the real engines of the British economy, is in hibernation.
"The cut will go some way towards easing the financial pressure that has been building on hard pressed home owners - but it is not enough."
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, believes that February's cut should not be the last we see for a while: “Current housing market conditions indicate that further relaxation is needed to create satisfactory conditions and a base rate cut to instil consumer confidence offers the most obvious way to achieve this.
“Disposable incomes are being impacted by the knock-on effect of increasing utility and transport bills. These rises mean that all finances are being squeezed. A decrease in rates should pave the way for borrowers to free up a little more cash."
One thing rings true across all commentators, and that is the need for all of the lenders to pass on the rate cut in full.
Ross Bowen, managing director of Connells Survey & Valuation, warned that insufficient market stimulation over the next few months will result in the MPC needing to take further action to ward off economic slowdown.
This is echoed by both Leeming and Boulger, who said he expected the proportion of lenders passing on the rate reduction will be less this time around than in December.
"Lenders’ margins, the difference between the cost to them and what they charge the consumer, are at the highest they have been for a very long time," said Boulger.
“However, the dire shortage of funds available for mortgage lending, and the consequent lack of competition, means that those lenders that do have money to lend have been forced to increase mortgage rates, and of course their margins, just to control the avalanche of applications that met the launch of any reasonably competitive rate."
Internal policies bound up in red tape are largely responsible says Michael Coogan, CML director general.
"Lenders’ rate setting policies are more complex than simply the level of the base rate. They are determined by a range of factors including the cost of retail funding and the cost and availability of wholesale funding.
"Therefore borrowers should not expect that a base rate reduction will automatically result in a cut in standard variable rates or discounted rates across the market."
Boulger concluded: "Unless the liquidity crisis eases, the likelihood is that lenders will continue to increase their margins, just to control the flow of new applications, although the beneficial impact on the bottom line is of course not lost on them."
