Ben Thompson, Legal & General's Director of Mortgages, said: "The remortgage market is actually showing early signs of warming up, but it won't really get going until the bank base rate is increased.
"When this happens, borrowers that are able to move around are going to start doing so quickly, creating havoc with lenders' back books. We think that ‘locking the back door' is something that lenders should be thinking about far in advance and ought to be preparing their retention strategies already. We would encourage lenders to work with brokers to ensure a cost-effective solution for all parties. We would also encourage brokers to start reviewing their books, identifying people on standard variable rates without tie-ins and making lists of prospects to call when the time is right."
