Barclays has announced mortgage rate reductions of up to 0.2% as the bank said it saw an “opportunity” in the swap markets.
Barclays has made changes to its purchase-only, remortgage-only, purchase and remortgage, and customer reward ranges for residential borrowers.
This includes a two-year fixed purchase only deal at 60% loan to value (LTV) with an £899 fee which has fallen from 4.33% to 4.23% and the fee-free option which has gone from 4.55% to 4.45%.
The premier product at the same tier with an £899 fee has been cut from 4.3% to 4.22%.
At 90% LTV, Barclays has reduced the rate of a two-year fixed purchase-only product with no fee from 5.49% to 5.39%.
Across its remortgage products, there is a two-year fix at 60% LTV with a £999 fee which has gone down from 4.375 to 4.27%, while the corresponding option at 75% LTV has been cut from 4.62% to 4.52%.
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These changes will come into effect from 27 November.
Mark Arnold, head of mortgage and savings at Barclays, said: “I’m delighted we’re able to decrease core mortgage rates again, after what has been a very volatile period in the swap markets.
“As we have done during the course of this year, when we see an opportunity in the swap markets we will act swiftly to pass on the benefit to our mortgage customers.”
As of 22 November, the two-year swap was 4.1% while the five-year swap was 3.9%, Chatham Financial showed.
Reacting to the reductions, Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, said: “Barclays has made a bold move as the first high street lender to cut mortgage rates in response to recent market changes. With swap rates easing over the past couple of days, it’s great to see a lender acting quickly to reflect the slightly improving conditions.
“While these reductions won’t change the world, they do offer a bit of breathing room for borrowers, especially after the recent trend of rising rates among high street lenders. This could also signal the potential for more repricing across the market if conditions remain stable. It’s a small but positive step in the mortgage landscape, bringing a glimmer of hope to those navigating the current borrowing climate.”
Metro Bank scraps maximum accepted rental limit
Metro Bank has removed the maximum accepted annual rental limit of £100,000 across its buy-to-let (BTL) products, which the bank said would offer more flexibility to borrowers with higher rental income properties.
The lender will now accept common law tenancies where the rental is more than £100,000 a year. Other types of common law tenancies, such as letting to a company or the landlord being resident, are not accepted.
Charles Morley, director of mortgage distribution at Metro Bank, said: “Metro Bank is committed to the buy-to-let market and to being the number one specialist lender on the high street. Removing annual rental limits for rented properties means that we can continue to support landlords across the country.”
