Lisa Taylor, analyst at moneyfacts.co.uk commented: “Three weeks on from the MPCs decision to increase bank base rate, we are still waiting for 39 per cent of mortgage lenders and 20 per cent of savings providers to announce any increase to their rates. Compared with three weeks on from the August rise, this is 20 per cent less mortgage changes to date and 27 per cent more savings increases.
Mortgages
“To date 61 per cent of mortgage lenders have increased their SVR by between 0.20 per cent and 0.34 per cent, with 68 per cent already charging the higher rate to their new customers. As expected within in this competitive market, the vast majority of lenders have passed on the 0.25 per cent increase, with only six so far increasing by an amount less than the quarter point, and six deciding to take this opportunity to raise their SVR by more than the base rate increase.
“The average of these new SVR rates currently stands at 6.58 per cent, over 1.50 per cent above bank base rate. So for any borrower paying a lender’s SVR this can be a very costly time, but we need to remember that these increases will also have an impact on any mortgage which rate is linked to an SVR, these normally being discounted deals.
“So before being deterred or attracted to a lender simply by the fact it has increased by more or less than a base rate rise, it is important to look at their full product offering. Lenders may not have any products linked to their standard variable rate, in which case the impact should only be felt by a relatively small number of consumers.
“We are still waiting announcements from some of the larger lenders, namely HSBC and NatWest. The Woolwich announced this week a rise of 0.30 per cent to 7.14 per cent, but again, it does currently not offer any SVR linked products.
“We anticipate many lenders are waiting for the 1 December to announce, so next week should be fraught with activity."
