Building society slashes interest rates on mortgages by up to 0.50%

The mutual implemented the mortgage changes to give brokers, buyers and homeowners "greater choice" as rates drop across the market.

By Katie Elliott, Personal finance reporter based in London

Couple smiling at laptop

Building society slashes interest rates on mortgages by up to 0.50% (Image: Getty)

Leeds Building Society has announced a spate of reductions to selected fixed rate mortgage products to help “alleviate” pressure on homeowners further.

From Monday, selected residential rates will be reduced by up to 15bps, shared ownership by up to 20bps and Limited Company Buy-to-Let rates by up to 50bps.

In addition, the mutual has announced new product launches, which include two and three-year residential mortgages at 65 percent, 75 percent and 85 percent Loan To Value (LTV).

Jonathan Thompson, senior mortgage manager at Leeds Building Society, commented: “Last week the Bank of England released its biannual Financial Stability Report which warned that more than three million borrowers could face shock increases in their mortgage payments over the next two years.

“The changes we have made to our mortgage range will hopefully go some way to alleviating the pressure on homeowners who are coming towards the end of their fixed-term rate.

Leeds Building Society branch

The mutual slashed rates to help “alleviate” pressure on homeowners further. (Image: GETTY)

“For aspiring first-time buyers, we hope that the rate reductions we’ve made will help put homeownership within closer reach and we are pleased to add new standard residential and Shared Ownership mortgage products to our range.

“We’ve implemented these changes to give brokers, buyers and homeowners greater choice as rates drop across the market, and we continue to assess our range of products in support of new and existing members.”

The move follows a series of mortgage rate reductions from several of the “big six” lenders, including HSBC and Barclays.

Barclays lowered its rates by 0.7 percent, while HSBC reduced rates on its residential mortgage range by an average of 0.08 percent (between 0.02 percent and 0.14 percent).

This marks the second time these lenders have cut mortgage rates in just two weeks.

A HSBC UK spokesperson said: “We’re here to support our customers and we remain committed to offering the best possible rates.

“That’s why we’re pleased to announce cuts to mortgage rates across several hundred products in our residential mortgage ranges including first-time buyers, home movers, and people looking to re-mortgage.

“We are also extending our cashback incentive for First Time Buyers which will be applicable for 60-95 percent LTV.”

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