With db mortgages, edeus and Advantage, among others having launched their own lender propositions over the past 12 months, Pete Thomson, sales director at Mortgages plc, admitted that lenders have been unable to pass on the full Base Rate and swap rate increases within their product ranges, for fear of losing market share. He said: “Although rising swap rates have forced lenders to reprice most of their fixed rates, many lenders have not passed on the full increase to consumers in order to protect and increase their market share.”
He added; “Consumers are the real winners is the battle which is raging between lenders for market share.”
However, Kim Barrett, proprietor at KS Barrett & Associates, disagreed: “It is a common misconception that fixed rates and Base Rate are related – this is not true. Lenders buy in a tranche of money months in advance, add an admin fee and price the product accordingly. For Mortgages plc to say consumers have benefited from this is untrue, it is just a way of promoting its products.”
