Mortgage borrowers winners in high street competition

12th January 2018

Mortgage borrowers are benefiting from competition on the high street following the biggest squeeze on profit margins for two years. The Bank of England reported that in the final three months of 2017 the difference between the central bank's base interest rate and the average mortgage rates charged to borrowers narrowed significantly. Most of the extra demand towards the end of last year came from remortgagers keen to lock in low rates following November's 0.25% rise in the base rate to 0.5%, as the Bank’s latest Credit Conditions Survey said lenders were restricting access to unsecured loans and credit card borrowing after a steep rise in defaults.

The Guardian (11/01/2018)