Mark Lofthouse, chief executive of sourcing system Mortgage Brain, said it had received the biggest number of requests from lenders to make changes to their products ranges in June 2005 than any other month since April 2003. Last month it received 932 requests from lenders to make alterations to their product range data, compared to just 400 in June 2003.
In 2004 the average number of requests stood at around 600 to 700. Although Lofthouse could not comment on whether the majority of these product changes meant an improvement to lenders' rates and criteria, it is widely accepted this would have been the case as lender anxieties grow about slow business levels since the onset of mortgage regulation. Competition for a bigger slice of market share has become increasingly fierce.
Abbey is one of the latest lenders to change its product range with lower fixed rates, most reduced by 0.10 per cent. Its stepped fixed rates now start at 3.59 per cent, and its six-month fixed rate Flexible Plus mortgage is now 4.39 per cent - also reduced by 0.10 per cent.
Mike Fitzgerald, sales director at Brentchase Financial Services, said: "There has been a tremendous amount of product changes in the last three to four weeks.
"With the economy slowing down lenders are re-jigging their rates to make them more attractive. The gloves are off. Lenders have got used to such high business volumes they don't want to lose their share."
Joe Wiggins, media relations executive at Abbey, said its product alterations were more a result of swap rate changes, but added it has prompted higher levels of business. "We've bought our fixed rates down a couple of times in the past month," he said. "But this was not due to any panic about falling market share."
