Mortgage lenders 'slow to react to rate rise'
Published On 18 May 2007
A week after the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee decided to increase base rates by 0.25 per cent, a consumer website reports that some mortgage lenders have been slow to respond.Last week's increase had been widely predicted as figures showed that inflation was, at the time, above three percent. Indeed, Lisa Taylor, an analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said the rise was "almost a foregone conclusion".
Despite this, the website reports that "mortgage lenders have been slow to amend their standard variable rates (SVR)".
According to Ms Taylor, over 100 mortgage lenders are yet to announce any changes to their SVR.
However, Ms Taylor added that some major lenders - including Nationwide and Halifax - have already passed on the rise to borrowers.
"With these early announcements - often seen as the benchmark within the industry - it shouldn't be too long before we see more lenders following their lead," she added.
Earlier this week, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) published figures indicating that the recent interest rate increases may have had their desired effect as inflation appears to be again falling.
