End of Lend Lease

[Glider]

Just picked an interesting point, which is in December this year the UK will pay the final installment of the Lend Lease debt incurred during and after WW2. The original debt was I believe around $31,000,000,000 dollars and the final $80,000,000 will be paid off at the end of the year.

No one from the UK Goverment has offically said what the final bill will be, as interest was added from the start, but the final figures, will we are told, be broken down at the end of the year. Should be interesting.

Its complicated as other debts were added to the lend lease bill which had differing rates of interest. The original lend lease was at 2%. The December Payment is the final payment for all the UK debts to the USA.

In case your wondering, the debts owed from WW1 are still outstanding and will never be paid. The world side financial collapse in 1932 halted all payments. The UK owed the USA around $834m but we were owed $2,000m by other countries namely France.

 

[plan_D]

That is interesting. And may come as a shock to a lot of Americans who believe the Lend-Lease was free.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Great info - hey now you folks don't have to put up with loudmouth Americans coming over on vacation an saying "We saved ya @sses, ya-all still owe us money from dubya-dubya too." Seriously, when this happens, I think the only other country to pay the US for their WW2 debts was Holland.

 

[Glider]

The only country to pay off its WW1 debt to the USA was of all countries, Finland.

There was a typo in my first posting. The last para shold have been in Sterling not Dollars.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I always thought it was Holland - you're probably right...

 

[Hunter368]

Amazing and interesting point Glider. Cool

 

[plan_D]

That's one less weight on the British government then. I wonder what they're going to spend the excess on ... asylum seekers, by any chance?

 

[Wildcat]

Very interesting, I wonder how much money the Australian govt owes?

 

[loomaluftwaffe]

interesting info

even this crappy third world country owes alot of money
and what do those government officials do with that money?
get dozens of houses, with a wife and family in each house

and thats our tax money (most of the population are squatters and arent able to pay taxes)... i mean this new fire hydrant was constructed and the (corrupt) senator even put up a huge sign

"Through the generosity of ________ this fire hydrant was constructed blah blah blah"

im going too off-topic

 

[HealzDevo]

Yes, still it does seem to be a big drain having the much money going out for a debt that old.

 

[Civettone]

What exactly was this debt about?
All the equipment which was never returned to the US? Including that which was destroyed due to enemy actions?


Kris

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Paying for it all.

 

[davparlr]

I was under the impression that all war debt was forgiven. After very little research it turns out I was correct. This is what I got from BBC here

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | What's a little debt between friends?

The UK is about to pay off the last of its World War II loans from the US. But it hasn't always been so fastidious.

On 31 December, the UK will make a payment of about $83m (£45.5m) to the US and so discharge the last of its loans from World War II from its transatlantic ally.

It is hard from a modern viewpoint to appreciate the astronomical costs and economic damage caused by this conflict. In 1945, Britain badly needed money to pay for reconstruction and also to import food for a nation worn down after years of rationing.

"In a nutshell, everything we got from America in World War II was free," says economic historian Professor Mark Harrison, of Warwick University.

"The loan was really to help Britain through the consequences of post-war adjustment, rather than the war itself. This position was different from World War I, where money was lent for the war effort itself."

 

[pbfoot]

Good read and info sounds like their credit rating should look like mine

 

[davparlr]

It also should be noted here that Great Britain received $3.3 billion from the Marshall plan.

 

[Glider]

I think you missed the bit where it says that the interest rate was 2% which was very low and this has been paid off plus the original amount. In addition to the Lend Lease there were war loans and other loans at different rates after the war not including the Marshall Plan. The final payment covered all these loans.
At least give the UK some plus marks for paying these amounts off, how many other countries have done so?

Re the WW1 loan, the prolem the UK had is that we were owed much more by other countries in particular the French, than we owed the USA. With the economic recession in the 1930's all countries were unable to pay these off and this is one reason why the debts remained unpaid.

 

[davparlr]

I think you missed the bit where it says that the interest rate was 2% which was very low and this has been paid off plus the original amount. In addition to the Lend Lease there were war loans and other loans at different rates after the war not including the Marshall Plan. The final payment covered all these loans.
At least give the UK some plus marks for paying these amounts off, how many other countries have done so?

Yeah, I didn't read the whole passage prior to responding. I do think it is honorable to have repaid the loan.

Re the WW1 loan, the prolem the UK had is that we were owed much more by other countries in particular the French, than we owed the USA. With the economic recession in the 1930's all countries were unable to pay these off and this is one reason why the debts remained unpaid.

I don't think anyone really expects these loans to be repaid, nor does anyone think that it is a problem.