They can also choose an alternative, called a HECM Saver loan, where they pay much lower fees but can borrow less and may pay a higher effective interest rate.

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All that said, the provision of loans to banks by the Bank of England at an effective interest rate of 0.75% has brought down the cost of mortgages and the cost of small business loans.

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The Federal Reserve has been flooding the banking system with cash, so much so in the last week that it has pushed the effective overnight interest rate below the central bank's target 2%.

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To make interest rate hikes more effective, he could have told the markets that he was explicitly targeting the bubble.

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While these policies - clamping down on loans, currency appreciation and interest rate rises - have been effective inflation fighting tactics, they have proven to be a drag on growth for the corporate sector.

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GRATs are especially effective right now because (1) many assets are still undervalued, (2) the section 7520 interest rate is very low, and (3) short-term GRATs are still possible.

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