The UK’s mortgage lenders have continued to raise interest rates, despite the Bank of England holding the base rate at 0.1%.
Rate rises on mortgages at HSBC, NatWest and Nationwide took effect on Thursday. Skipton Building Society said it would remove all of its three-year fixed rates on Friday and Leeds Building Society announced a rise in rates on mortgages at loan-to-value ratios of 80% and 85%.
The central bank’s decision surprised financial markets, which had factored in a rise this month. Rates are nonetheless likely to rise to around 1% by the end of 2022, according to the bank’s inflation report.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England is telling lenders to ring-fence vast sums in case cladding victims default on mortgages.