Nearly 300 UK mortgage deals pulled in a day as pound’s fall heralds rate rise
Nearly 300 mortgage deals have been pulled in the last 24 hours by banks and building societies after a fall in the pound fuelled forecasts of a jump in interest rates to nearly 6%.
The Bank of Ireland, Clydesdale Bank, Post Office Money and building societies including Monmouthshire, Furness and Darlington are among the names to have withdrawn products.
In a statement Bank Of Ireland said that “due to changes in the financial market, we don’t currently have any new rates available for new or existing customers. We’ll launch a new range of mortgage rates as soon as possible.”
Virgin Money and Skipton building society were among the lenders that said they were pulling their mortgage deals on Monday.
The country’s largest mortgage lender, Halifax, also said it was withdrawing its fee-paying mortgage products – in which borrowers pay an arrangement fee to secure a lower fixed interest rate – and moving to a full fee-free range from Wednesday.
“As a result of significant changes in the cost of funding, we’re making some changes to our product range,” a Halifax spokesperson said.
On Tuesday there were 3,596 residential mortgage deals available, 284 fewer than before the sharp fall in the value of the pound on Monday morning, according to data firm Moneyfacts. At the end of last year would-be borrowers had 5,315 products to choose from.
Rachel Springall, a finance expert at Moneyfacts, said the market was extremely volatile and advised borrowers to seek independent advice to assess their best option. “The upheaval in the mortgage market may cause frustration among both borrowers and brokers as they see deals disappear overnight,” she said.
The overnight reduction in deals – the equivalent of a 7% drop – comes as lenders struggle to
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