Effective tomorrow (21st September), NatWest has made changes to its new and existing customer product ranges, as well as its end dates.
In its new business range, selected 2-year and 5-year purchase deals will see a reductions of up to 0.19% and 0.15%, while the lender’s tracker 2-year 60% loan-to-value (LTV) deal was reduced by up to 0.40%.
2-year and 5-year remortgage deals saw reductions of 0.20% and 0.11%, with selected first-time buyer products seeing reductions of up to 0.15%.
For new customers, the lender introduced a number of rate cuts across shared equity, Help to Buy shared equity, buy-to-let (BTL), BTL remortgage and green ranges.
For existing customers, NatWest made rate reductions of up to 0.20% across its switcher range, and a number of changes to its tracker product offering.
2-year term end dates will also be moving from 31st December 2025 to 31st January 2026, while 5-year term end dates will be moving from 31st December 2028 to 31st January 2029.
Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, said: “It is fantastic to see NatWest provide notice of a rate reduction this afternoon.
“While reductions are expected in the current market, it reassuring to see them even prior to the upcoming MPC announcement tomorrow.
“I suspect this will be one of many reduction notices we see this week.”
Reaction:
Steven Hargreaves, mortgage and protection adviser at The Mortgage Co:
“This is the third large lender this week to reduce their fixed rates, suggesting the rate war is now truly underway.
“I would expect several other lenders to look to reduce their offerings in the next week or so, meaning mortgages are becoming cheaper, which is fantastic news for all.
“Another positive step for the fragile housing market.”
Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages:
“NatWest goes south with its rates introducing a number of reductions across its full range.
“This repricing brings them closer to the rest of the high street lenders and is the first major move from a lender after Wednesday’s inflation data.
“We are definitely moving in the right direction, but whether it is quick enough to save the property market we will have to wait and see.”
Darryl Dhoffer, mortgage expert at The Mortgage Expert:
“It’s great to see another lender drawing their rates down in line with the rest of the market.
“The new business 2-year tracker rate at 60% loan-to-value (LTV) with a reduction of 0.40% looks strong, so they may already be pricing in for a Base Rate rise tomorrow.”
Lewis Shaw, owner and mortgage expert at Shaw Financial Services:
“With swathes of data showing house prices falling, mortgage demand shrinking and the economy contracting, lenders are now falling over themselves to shave off their margins to keep the machine turning and pick up business.
“I’d expect more of this in the coming weeks and not a moment too soon. For many lenders, the borrower cupboard is feeling bare.”
Gary Bush, Financial Adviser at MortgageShop.com:
“Another High Street mortgage lender lowering their rate is exactly what UK mortgage holders need, especially those coming off of their existing fixed rate.
“More to come hopefully after the more positive than expected inflation figure release.”
Richard Campo, founder at Rose Capital Partners:
“With the lower than expected inflation figures, falling money markets, and now even a question mark over whether the Bank of England will raise rates tomorrow, it is no surprise that major lenders are cutting rates.
“NatWest are just the first of many that will be doing this in the coming weeks.
“This period conjures images of that iconic scene in Braveheart when Mel Gibson tells his troops to hooooold!
“Much is the advice we have to give to our clients, as if you sign up for a fixed rate now, it may well be redundant when you come to complete your purchase or remortgage.
“Either going on a floating/variable rate or switching to a better deal come completion will be par for the course until this cycle settles down, which may take quite some time to happen if this sparks a rate war with lenders.”
Gary Boakes, director at Verve Financial:
“Good news breeds good news.
“With the promising inflation print on Wednesday, and with some big lenders making moves to lower rates earlier this week, it is not a surprise that we are now seeing the likes of NatWest follow suit.
“I fully expect other lenders to continue this good news trend over the next few days regardless of any potential increase in the base rate.”
Charles Breen, founder and director at Montgomery Financial:
“This marks another positive step forward, and with recent declines in swap rates over the past few weeks, we anticipate this trend continuing.
“It’s likely that other high street lenders will also take a cue from this reduction and follow suit.
“Lenders are capitalising on the current situation by actively pursuing mortgage applications, highlighting the substantial impact these applications have on their business volumes.
“In a bid to recover lost ground in 2023, high street lenders are making concerted efforts to grow market share by rate reductions, which is the total opposite to their motives 12 months ago when they were trying to manage mortgage volumes.
“However, questions still linger regarding whether these recent interest rate reductions are sufficient to restore confidence in the mortgage market to more favourable levels.”
Ben Tadd, director at Lucra Mortgages:
“Further positive news for mortgage borrowers as fixed mortgage rates continue to fall for the 8th consecutive week.
“NatWest is the quickest of the big six lenders to come out of the blocks, acting to slash their rates again in response to the unexpected positive inflation data released this morning.
“A broad range of more generous reductions in the rate margins across their product portfolio, this time around, versus more recent cuts they have made.
“Certainly a further step in the right direction for prospective buyers and existing mortgage borrowers alike.”
