
Woolwich to raise interest rates

With market commentators and others clearly expecting a rate cut of between 0.5% and 1% when the MPC meets tomorrow, there is growing disenchantment amongst mortgage advisers and others in the industry, that the banks are now using the rate cuts to help balance their books by increasing margins.
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) today called for the MPC to cut rates by 1% to help the economy as a whole, and the mortgage industry in particular, with Chris Cummings, AMI director general, saying: “While there has been significant activity to maintain our banking system, the actions have yet to work their way into the mortgage market. As a start, we urge the Bank of England to cut interest rates by 1%.”
Jerry Figueroa-Lee, Operations Director at The Mortgage Warehouse commented, “The move advised to us by Barclays today, that they will be increasing their margins on tracker rate products in advance of the Bank of England announcement tomorrow is nothing more than profiteering at the expense of the consumer.”
He further added, “When we questioned Barclays about this move, there was no real justification other than they need to control lending volumes and can’t afford to find themselves at the top being too competitive. In our mind this is nothing more than profiteering. A lifetime tracker rate in September was 0.69% over the Bank base rate giving a pay rate of 5.69%. The same lifetime tracker rate this month has been 1.29% above the bank base rate with the expectation now that the margin will move to 1.59% above the Bank base rate. In light of this we would challenge Barclays to justify this proposed move”.
Best Mortgage Rates available
Related Articles
UK Financial Solutions New Mortgage Sourcing System Goes LiveLatest News:
UK Financial Solutions New Mortgage Sourcing System Goes Live
UK financial Solutions has partnered with Evaluate Technologies to embed their online mortgage comparison service that ensures you get the best mort...
Published: 15-Sep-2009
BOE increases quantitative easing and holds the base rate
The Bank of England announced today that for the fifth consecutive month the base rate will be held at 0.5%, and that quantitative easing will be incr...
Published: 06-Aug-2009
Rise in Intermediary Mortgage Products Signals a Stabalising Market
Further news that the market may be stabilising has come from Mortgage Brain, one of the main sourcing systems available to intermediaries. Their fi...
Published: 06-Aug-2009