Professor Willem Buiter and Professor Charles Goodhart are two former members of the Monetary Policy Committee.
They told me they were in no doubt that rates would move eventually to zero or not far above it.
But they both highlighted the danger of a slump in the value of sterling.
The pound has fallen significantly since the summer as foreign investors reappraised the prospects for the British economy.
On a trade-weighted basis, it now stands at its lowest level since 1996.
Higher levels of household debt than in many other industrialised nations started to ring alarm bells.
The UK is perceived as more risky than many competitor economies.
Sterling did pick up a little after the rate decision, but only from new lows reached this morning.
It is a delicate balancing act.
If the Bank of England moves too aggressively on interest rates, confidence in the currency could be further undermined.
If the UK central bank was seen to be reducing the cost of borrowing more rapidly than others, incentives to hold sterling might be further diminished.
However, the fall in the pound has boosted the prospect of a rebalancing of the economy away from imports towards export-led growth.
But if an orderly decline turned into a currency rout, that would be a nightmare for the authorities.
Professors Buiter and Goodhart agree that big cuts in rates are necessary.
But they warn that currency fears may restrain the Bank just when restraint may be the least advisable option.
Right now the cost of borrowing, at 2%, is the lowest since 1951.
A further cut would take it to levels unseen since the Bank of England was founded in 1694.
Source: BBC News
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[...] a cut of more than 1% in December could have seen our pound decline further. I am sure my Blog on Could rates go as low as zero will be read, amended and read again in January and February as we see rates change [...]
[...] 1% in December could have seen our pound decline further. I am sure my Blog on <a href=”http://blog.theplace4mortgages.com/2008/12/05/could-rate-go-as-low-as-zero/”>Could rates go as low as zero</a> will be read, amended and read again in January and February as [...]
[...] a cut of more than 1% in December could have seen our pound decline further. I am sure my Blog on Could rates go as low as zero will be read, amended and read again in January and February as we see rates change [...]