Few lenders pass on rate cut

Jan 9 2009 by Andrew Hebden, The Journal

ONLY a handful of mortgage lenders have so far said they will cut their standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages and most are not expected to follow suit.

HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide and Skipton Building Society are all passing on the full 0.5% cut to their SVR customers from February 1. Newcastle Building Society said its tracker mortgage holders would benefit but it had not decided on its SVR holders.

The cut will save borrowers with a £150,000 mortgage around £40 a month.

But savers, who vastly outnumber borrowers, have been getting an increasingly raw deal since interest rates first began to fall, with 40% of accounts for deposits of £5,000 now paying interest of just 1% or less.