Matthew Wyles, group development director at Portman Building Society, commented: "This rate reduction comes as no surprise and is already fully discounted into the pricing of fixed rate mortgages. Customers should not, however, assume that this is the beginning of a landslide in mortgage pricing – the extent and timing of further reductions is by no means clear. That said, this does not look like a particularly smart time to be locking into fixed rates and we believe there is limited risk in now opting for variable rate products which will pass on the benefit of future rate reductions."
