Mortgage lenders cut rates for some after Bank of England base rate decision – check if yours is changing
Many mortgage lenders are cutting tracker and variable rates for existing customers as the dust settles on the Bank of England's decision to cut the base rate from 4% to 3.75% just days ago (on Thursday 18 December). If you're on one of these types of mortgages, here's what's happening to your rate.
Mortgage changes lender-by-lender
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If you're on a fix, your rate is locked in and won't change until your fix ends. So you won't be directly affected by the base rate decision.
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If you're on a tracker or variable rate, you'll likely see a cut soon. A rate cut of 0.25 percentage points is equivalent to roughly £15 a month less in repayments per £100,000 of mortgage debt. Here's what all of the major lenders are doing:
Lender | Tracker rate change | Standard variable rate (SVR) change |
|---|---|---|
AIB (NI) | Down 0.25 percentage points – awaiting exact date | Down from 6.85% to 6.6% – awaiting exact date |
Atom Bank | Awaiting response | Awaiting response |
Bank of Ireland UK | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | To be decided. Currently 7.19% |
Barclays | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | SVR down from 7.49% to 7.24% from 1 Jan. Follow-on rate down from 5.99% to 5.74% from 1 Jan (i) |
Clydesdale Bank | Down 0.25 percentage points – from when varies depending on your T&Cs | Down from 6.99% to 6.74% – from when varies depending on your T&Cs |
Co-op Bank | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | To be decided. Currently 6.87% |
Coventry BS | Down 0.25 percentage points immediately | Down from 6.74% to 6.54% from 1 Feb |
Danske Bank | Down 0.25 percentage points immediately | Down from 6.3% to 6.15% from 5 Jan |
First Direct | Down 0.25 percentage points immediately | Down from 6.49% to 6.24% from 9 Jan |
Halifax | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Feb | SVR down from 7.49% to 7.24% from 1 Feb. Same applies to Homeowner Variable Rate (ii) |
HSBC | Down 0.25 percentage points immediately | Down from 6.49% to 6.24% from 9 Jan |
Leeds BS | Change and effective date varies depending on your T&Cs | To be decided. Currently 7.74% |
Lloyds | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Feb | SVR down from 6% to 5.75% from 1 Feb. Homeowner Variable Rate down from 7.49% to 7.24% from 1 Feb (ii) |
Metro Bank | Down 0.25 percentage points immediately | Down from 7.5% to 7.25% – exact date to be decided |
Nationwide | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | Down from 6.74% to 6.49% from 1 Jan |
NatWest | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | Down from 6.99% to 6.74% from 1 Jan |
Newcastle BS | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | To be decided. Currently 6.5% |
Post Office Money | Awaiting response | Awaiting response |
Principality BS | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | Staying at 6.8% |
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | Down from 6.99% to 6.74% from 1 Jan |
Santander | Down 0.25 percentage points from 3 Jan | SVR down from 6.75% to 6.5% from 3 Jan. Follow-on rate down from 7.25% to 7% from 3 Jan (i) |
Skipton BS | Change and effective date varies depending on your T&Cs | To be decided. Currently 6.54% |
TSB | Down 0.25 percentage points from 17 Jan | SVR down from 6% to 5.75% from 17 Jan. Homeowner Variable Rate down from 7.49% to 7.24% from 17 Jan (ii) |
Ulster Bank | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Jan | Down from 6.99% to 6.74% from 1 Jan |
Virgin Money | Down 0.25 percentage points from 1 Feb | Down from 6.99% to 6.74% from 1 Feb |
West Brom BS | Down 0.25 percentage points – from when varies depending on your T&Cs | Down 0.15 percentage points to 5.49%, 5.74% or 6.24% (depending on your loan-to-value) from 1 Feb |
Yorkshire Bank | Down 0.25 percentage points – from when varies depending on your T&Cs | Down from 6.99% to 6.74% – from when varies depending on your T&Cs |
Yorkshire BS | Down from 11 Jan – amount varies depending on your T&Cs | To be decided. Currently 6.99% |
This table covers residential mortgages only – changes may differ for buy-to-let mortgages. Dates shown are when rates will change for existing customers. (i) Depending on when you first took out your Barclays or Santander mortgage, you may be on either the SVR or follow-on rate, though both work similarly. (ii) Depending on when you first took out your Halifax, Lloyds or TSB mortgage, you may be on either the SVR or Homeowner Variable Rate (HVR), though both work similarly.
On your lender's SVR? You can likely save £1,000s with a new deal
A standard variable rate (SVR) is the rate you pay once your current mortgage deal comes to an end. And because it's variable, it can change at the lender's discretion at any time – not necessarily in tandem with the base rate.
SVRs are normally far more expensive than the best fixed or tracker deals – right now, a typical SVR is around 6.5% to 7.5%, while the top two- and five-year fixed rates stand at around 3.7%. So if you're on an SVR, you should consider switching to a new deal now – see our Cheap mortgage finding guide for help securing the best deal for you.
Savings rates are also dropping
Unsurprisingly, banks are less keen to shout about rate cuts on savings – but we have seen some of the top rates for newbies drop since the latest base rate cut, and it's likely more will follow.
For example, Chase's easy-access saver (linked to its current account), currently pays 4.5% – but this will drop to 4.25% on Monday 29 December. Meanwhile, the top easy-access cash ISA from Trading 212, which paid up to 4.52% last week, has now been cut by 0.25 percentage points to 4.27%.
If you have any variable rate savings – such as an easy-access account, notice account or a current account paying interest – look out for a rate change notification from your provider and ditch and switch if necessary. If it's anything less than 4%, you can quickly and easily boost it. For help finding the right account for you, try our brand-new Savings Picker.
Credit cards are mostly unaffected
Credit cards are mostly unaffected as their interest rates are already significantly above the base rate. If you're paying credit card interest, check if you can save £1,000s by shifting the debt to 0% using a balance transfer card. Right now you could get up to 35 months interest-free.
Cheap new loan rates could come down marginally
Existing loans are unaffected as they're usually fixed rates. New loan rates are typically set on interest rate forecasts rather than base rate moves, but the cheapest new loan rates could come down very marginally.
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