Santander has today announced a fresh round of rate reductions from 0.04% to 0.11% and the launch of a new remortgage product up to 60% loan-to-value (LTV) from Thursday 7th September. Free UK news agency, Newspage, sought the views of brokers, below.
One said: “Disappointing from Santander. In the heat of the moment, they are trying to keep their brand in the mix. The rate cuts are marginal and will likely have very little impact on borrowers.”
Another added: “Whilst welcome, these reductions are nothing more than a PR contest between lenders on who can offer the cheapest rates, even if that is by 0.01%.”
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Craig Fish, director at Lodestone Mortgages & Protection:
“Whilst welcome, these reductions are nothing more than a PR contest between lenders on who can offer the cheapest rates, even if that is by 0.01%.
“Quite frankly the current approach some lenders are taking is ridiculous and the sooner one sticks their head above the parapet with a decent reduction, the better.
“If things continue as they are then the mortgage market heading towards Christmas is going to resemble something that the Grinch has stolen.”
Gary Bush, financial adviser at MortgageShop.com:
“Santander reducing rates by 0.04% and 0.11% isn’t worth reporting on but here we are. It certainly seems like a headline grabber more than a serious financial institution trying to help UK mortgage holders.”
Ranald Mitchell, director at Charwin Private Clients:
“Disappointing from Santander. In the heat of the moment, they are trying to keep their brand in the mix. The rate cuts are marginal and will likely have very little impact on borrowers.”
Ben Tadd, director at Lucra Mortgages:
“The rate reductions continue, with another Big Six lender in Santander announcing further cuts to their product range, in reaction to other lenders that have already acted to slash their rates in the last week.
“A relatively small reduction in rates, but a cut to their current pricing all the same, so it can only be a positive for new borrowers. Existing Santander borrowers, however, are not so lucky, as no rate reductions have been announced at all across their existing customer range.”
Peter Stamford, director and lead adviser at Moor Mortgages:
“It seems Santander and other big lenders are nudging their rates down a smidgen, keen to snag the attention of potential borrowers. It’s a bit like watching a quiet tug-of-war, where neither side is putting their backs into it. Everyone’s got their fingers crossed for a lender to step up with a real game-changer that can shake things up in a positive way.”
Stephen Perkins, managing director at Yellow Brick Mortgages:
“Santander is the latest large bank to reduce rates this week across their residential range and also targeted more aggressively those clients with higher deposits or equity.
“Lenders continue to fight for their share of a reduced market, with none of them wanting to be without a chair when the music stops.”
Darryl Dhoffer, mortgage expert at The Mortgage Expert:
“All lenders are jostling for position. They have loan books to fill, shareholders and investors to appease, in what can only be described as a massacre of many lenders in writing new business volumes.
“I think many lenders at the start of the year knew their business volumes would be down this year, but may not have forecast an average of 30-35% down on transactions, throughout the whole year, which is most likely the numbers lost or that will be lost.
“Remortgages and Product Transfers have been the order of play this year, and I can’t see much changing as this year plays out. It would be nice to get some traction in the last quarter of this year, so the inflation figures this month will be key.”
Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages:
“These welcome improvements are small and won’t make much difference. Currently, the rate differential between the high street lenders is minimal, and 0.1% could be the difference between the cheapest and the 10th best mortgage deals for any given search, so this could also be just the way to ensure the lenders feature in our research.”
Elliott Culley, director at Switch Mortgage Finance
“Swap rates are currently quite steady, so there is not a huge amount of reduction lenders can make right now unless they were too high to begin with. This is Santander trying to be slightly more competitive and hoping to entice a few more deals their way. Nothing else to it.”
