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Mortgage borrowers still waiting for their rate cut

Five weeks on from Decembers shock reduction in base rate, many experts are predicting yet another cut tomorrow. Despite the festive period we would have expected the dust to have settled by now, with most mortgage lenders having made a decision. But some mortgage providers are still undecided, with mortgage borrowers continuing to be charged at a potentially higher rate.

There are currently ten mortgage lenders who have failed to make any announcement as to whether their standard variable rate (“SVR”) will be changing. Included are several smaller building societies, but more surprisingly it’s unusual to see some larger providers such as Skipton still undecided.

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Mortgage lenders yet to announce:

• Bath BS
• Ecology BS
• Harpenden BS
• Intelligent Finance
• Ipswich BS
• Manchester BS
• Marsden BS
• Monmouthshire BS
• Principality BS
• Skipton BS

Of the 89 mortgage lenders that have reduced their mortgage rates 18 have opted for a cut of less than 0.25%, meaning any borrower on a SVR deal or a discounted mortgage rate linked to the lender’s SVR will not be seeing the benefit of the full 0.25% cut they may have been expecting.

Mortgage lenders who have passed on less than 0.25%:

• Alliance & Leicester -0.20%
• Cheshire BS -0.20%
• Earl Shilton BS -0.20%
• Mansfield BS -0.20%
• Northern Bank (NI) -0.20%
• Nottingham BS -0.20%
• Scottish Widows Bank -0.20%
• Ulster Bank (NI) -0.20%
• Saffron BS -0.19%
• Catholic BS -0.17%
• Allied Irish Bank (GB) -0.15%
• Egg -0.15%
• First Trust Bank (NI) -0.15%
• Loughborough BS -0.15%
• Northern Rock -0.15%
• Scottish BS -0.15%
• Beverley BS -0.14%
• Dunfermline BS -0.10%

Whatever the amount the mortgage lender has passed on following the base rate cut, what’s more important for mortgage borrowers, especially those on a reverts to SVR is the actual mortgage rate they are being charged.  Some mortgage lenders decisions may have been to re-align their rates with competitors.

Mortgage Best Buys – Standard Variable Rate
Mortgage Best Buys – Discounted Variable Rate
Mortgage Best Buys – Fixed Rate