Mortgages are more expensive for one million homeowners after the Halifax, the Co-operative Bank, Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank all increased their standard variable rate (SVR) yesterday. Many mortgages revert to the SVR when a fixed-rate deal comes to the end of its term. Lenders are increasing their SVRs due to the higher cost of [...]
The Co-operative Bank has announced plans to increase its standard variable mortgage rate (SVR) by 0.5 percentage points to 4.74 per cent from 1 May. The increase means that 54,000 mortgage borrowers will have to pay an average of £15 a month more on their mortgage. The bank has increased its rates to help offset [...]
The Bank of Ireland has become the latest lender to increase the standard variable rate (SVR) on its mortgages. Around 100,000 UK customers will be affected when the bank increases the SVR from 2.99 per cent, to 3.99 per cent in June There will be a further increase in September, when the SVR will rise [...]
Consumer group Which? has warned homeowners with SVR mortgages that they will be financially squeezed once interest rates are lifted. A Standard Variable Rate (SVR) is a mortgage in which the rate of interest is varied from time to time by the lender but it is usually set at about 2% above the Bank of [...]
Mortgage borrowers on Stroud & Swindon Building Society’s standard variable rate (SVR) can expect to see their monthly repayments reduced once the mutual is absorbed by the larger Coventry Building Society. In an announcement confirming the merger, Coventry says its financial strength will deliver an “immediate benefit” for many Stroud & Swindon members. The statement [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is inviting its standard variable rate (SRV) mortgage customers to increase their monthly repayments. Under a new scheme that will run for a year, borrowers can overpay by up to 20% without incurring a financial penalty. Research by the bank, which is the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, suggests over 63% of mortgage [...]
Millions of homeowners across the UK have no idea what interest rate they’re paying on their mortgage, according to research by Post Office Mortgages, A poll by the lender found that while 35% of borrowers are currently on a standard variable rate (SVR) mortgage, 28% - around 3 million homeowners - don’t know what rate [...]
Skipton Building Society’s decision to raise its standard variable rate (SVR) has resulted in an unexpected challenge from law firm, Leon Kaye. In January, Skipton announced its intention to increase its SVR from 3.5% to 4.95% from 1st March 2010, despite the base rate remaining to an all-time low of 0.5%. The lender evoked “exceptional [...]
The collapse of the remortage market as borrowers coming to the end of fixed-rate deals opt to remain on reversion rates, is prompting lenders to raise their standard variable rates (SRVs). According to Moneyfacts.co.uk some borrowers on SVRs have benefited from the record low 0.5% base rate but others have not been so lucky. The [...]
Skipton Building Society is increasing its standard variable rate (SVR) from 3.5% to 4.95%. The change is effective 1st March 2010 and will occur despite the base rate clinging to an all-time low of 0.5% The lender has evoked “exceptional circumstances” clauses that allow it to remove an SVR cap of 3% above base rate [...]
Britons appear confident that the Bank of England’s base rate has bottomed out at 0.5% and are therefore favouring fixed-rate mortgage deals. According to Abbey’s mortgage index, last month 60% of homeowners preferred the idea of a fixed-rate home loan, on the basis that it could offer protection from future rate rises. The figures compares [...]
Nationwide has announced that customers taking out fixed-rate mortgages will no longer revert to its base mortgage rate (BMR), when the fix comes to an end. The building society’s BMR, which is the equivalent to a standard variable rate (SVR), has been falling in line with reductions in the base rate and currently stands at [...]
The resistance of mortgage lenders to pass on cuts in the base rate is illustrated by new research from Moneyfacts.co.uk. The financial website found that Standard Variable Rates (SVRs) are down by an average one-third of the total amount shaved off the base rate in recent months. The firm’s analyst, Michelle Slade, points out that [...]
Eight major lenders yesterday confirmed plans to pass on the full 0.5% base rate cut to mortgage holders. Abbey, Barclays, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society and Skipton Building Society have all announced interest rate cuts. Abbey said the full rate cut will be passed on to tracker mortgage holders, whilst [...]
HSBC is launching a new home loan at the astonishingly low rate of 2.99%. However, the lender’s Premier two-year discount deal is only available to its Premier customers who must hold £50,000 in savings and investments with the bank or already have a £250,000 mortgage with HSBC. They will also need a minimum income of [...]
Lloyds TSB has confirmed that it will pass on today’s 1.5% cut in the base rate in full, to mortgage borrowers on its standard variable rate (SVR). The bank had previously pledged that its SVR will never be pitched more than 2% above the Bank of England’s base rate. Today’s reduction takes Lloyds TSB’s SVR [...]
Financial information provider, Moneyfacts.co.uk, has revealed that half of the UK’s mortgage lenders have failed reduce their standard variable rates (SVR) in line with recent cuts in the base rate. According to the firm’s research, 50% of lenders have not made any reduction in SVR, from the October base rate cut. Meanwhile, 82% of lenders [...]
Financial information provider, Moneyfacts, has reported that the 0.5% cut in the Bank of England’s base rate made earlier this month has not been passed on by three quarters of UK mortgage lenders. The emergency reduction, to 4.5%, was made on 8th October in a coordinated action with other central banks. However, only one quarter [...]
Alliance & Leicester (A&L) has cut its Standard Variable Rate (SVR) from 7.19% to 6.94%. The 0.25% reduction applies from 30th October; existing customers on the lender’s SVR and those with SVR discounted loans will see their monthly payments change from 2nd November. The bank is also advising borrowers with base rate tracker loans that [...]
Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G), the mortgage lending arm of Lloyds TSB, has withdrawn some of its most competitive mortgage deals, from today. The move follows yesterday’s emergency cut in the Bank of England’s base rate, to 4.5%, which prompted leading lenders, including Halifax and C&G, to cut their standard variable rates (SVR). However, C&G has [...]
Mastercard in contactless payment technology partnership
Mastercard has entered into a partnership with mobile network provider Everything Everywhere which is designed to boost the uptake of contactless payment technology in the OK. Under the five-year deal, MasterCard customers will be offered a range of new payment technologies, including a near field communication (NFC) service allowing them to make payments simply with [...]
Mortgages more affordable for new borrowers
Although mortgages are at their most affordable for 15 years, approvals are at an all-time low. A new report from the Halifax reveals that payments on mortgage loans now account for around a quarter of take-home pay, due to record low interest rates of 0.5 per cent and weak house prices in many areas. The [...]
Unions vote to accept public sector pension changes
Unions have agreed to proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), ending a long-running dispute with the government over the reforms. Members of Unison and Unite, two of the UK’s largest unions, voted in support of the reforms, with 84 per cent of Unite members voting to accept the changes and 90 per [...]
RBS could receive higher fine than Barclays for rate-rigging
The Royal Bank of Scotland could be more heavily involved in inter-bank rate fixing than Barclays, an MP has suggested. John Mann, a Labour MP on the Treasury select committee, speculated that RBS could receive a fine in excess of the £290 million incurred by Barclays, if the allegations prove true. A source from within [...]
Rich have benefited most from quantitative easing
The Bank of England has admitted in a new report that the richest 5 per cent of UK households have benefitted the most from its quantitative easing (QE) programme. The Bank launched the programme in March 2009, in an effort to revive economic growth. In total it has bought £375bn of government bonds, known as [...]
ABI calls for transparency over pension charges
A ‘protocol’ should be given to members of company and private pension schemes, giving clear information on charges, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says. The ABI’s call for pension charges to be made clearer comes prior to the introduction of automatic enrolment in autumn, when employers will be required to enrol workers in a [...]
Report tackles shortage of rented homes
With soaring demand for accommodation pushing rents to an all-time high, a new report suggests that rules on affordable homes should be relaxed to encourage the building of homes for rent. The average rent paid by private tenants in England and Wales reached £725 a month in July according to property group LSL. The government [...]
Police seize millionth uninsured vehicle
Police have seized the millionth uninsured vehicle, indicating the size of the problem of uninsured driving in the UK. The vehicle was seized in Birmingham, which is one of UK’s motor insurance evasion hotspots. According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), Bordesley in Birmingham has now replaced the Barkerend area of Bradford as the place [...]
Mortgage fraud increases by 23 per cent
Information services company Experian has reported a 23 per cent increase in the number of people giving false information in order to obtain a mortgage. In the second quarter of this year, 39 out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were found to be fraudulent, compared with 32 in the 2011 second quarter. Lenders have tightened [...]
Government to crack down on hidden credit card charges
Tougher rules are to be brought in to protect consumers from hidden credit card charges and premium-rate phone calls to customer service departments. The Government has launched a consultation on how to implement the changes, which are required under a European Consumer Rights Directive and will apply to countries across the European Union. The new [...]
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