It announces rate changes after HSBC lowered rates on Monday
NatWest has become the latest major lender after HSBC to announce further rate cuts, with changes to its new and existing customer product ranges effective from today, September 5.
On the lender’s new business range, residential purchase and remortgage products – including fixed rate and tracker deals – had their rates reduced by up to 0.55% and 0.46% respectively.
Selected first-time buyer, Help to Buy shared equity remortgage, green purchase and remortgage, buy-to-let purchase and remortgage, and green buy-to-let purchase and remortgage products also had rate cuts.
For existing customers, rates on selected two-year switcher deals were lowered by up to five basis points (bps), while selected two- and five-year tracker switcher deals were slashed by up to 46bps and 10bps respectively.
NatWest also pulled selected five-year purchase and remortgage products with £1,495 fee from the new business range.
NatWest issues 24-hour warning to customers as it follows HSBC lead https://t.co/V4eUkiG3g3
— Birmingham Live (@birmingham_live) September 4, 2023
“All these rate reductions are starting to feel like an avalanche,” Stephen Perkins, managing director at Yellow Brick Mortgages, told news agency Newspage. “Great news all around, and they seem to be picking up momentum as they fall. No doubt there will be more of these reductions over the week as all lenders follow in a conga line.”
Riz Malik, founder and director at R3 Mortgages, added that when HSBC revealed its repricing, it was anticipated that other lenders would follow suit.
“True to expectation, NatWest has stepped up,” he said. “Their reduced tracker rates are beneficial for those who foresee rate fluctuations in the future. Moreover, they’re revitalising their buy-to-let offerings which will help some struggling landlords.”
Steven Morris, advising director at Advantage Financial Solutions, believed more high street lenders would follow suit as “a magic combo of factors are coming together to reduce mortgage costs, slowly but surely.”
“A slowing purchase market, the expected seasonal summer lull, and now reducing swap rates are now incentivising lenders, and even those whose service hasn’t been ‘top notch’ in recent times are pricing down,” Morris pointed out.
“HSBC and now Natwest. While the Lloyds Banking Group only repriced last week, it is only a matter of time before their sub-divisions such as Halifax do so again to keep up with the Jones’s.”
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