Andrew Hagger, head of news and press at moneyfacts.co.uk, reviewed the changes to date: "Fourteen days on from the decision to raise base rate by a quarter of a point, we have still only seen half of UK mortgage providers announce changes to their standard variable rate (SVR), with some of the big players on the high street, namely Woolwich (Barclays), HSBC and NatWest still to decide.
“Last week we found that all SVR mortgage changes had matched the 0.25 per cent rise; however this week there have been eight providers that have upped their rates by more than this figure, in some cases by as much as 0.35 per cent.
“Whilst these increases will be bad news for consumers currently on a variable rate deal or on an extended tie in which will revert to SVR, when making comparisons between lenders it is important to look at the discounts offered.
“And while these larger increases may be deemed to be excessive, it is worth delving a bit deeper. Take for example two of the larger mortgage lenders, Nationwide and Britannia Building Society, which both increased their SVR by 0.35 per cent. Even including the increase to their rates, their SVRs still fall below the Moneyfacts average mortgage rate, currently 6.55 per cent. Additionally, both lenders’ variable rates are linked to base rate and therefore are not directly impacted by this 0.35 per cent increase to the SVR."
