Due to prevailing market conditions, Saffron Building Society has announced that it will temporarily withdraw all fixed-rate products across several categories. The move will come into effect at 5 pm today (Friday 9th June).
Saffron promptly alerted its intermediary partners of this decision via email just after 5 pm on Thursday 8th June, thereby adhering to its minimum 24-hour notice policy.
Tony Hall, head of business development at Saffron for Intermediaries, addressed the change: “We understand that removing products from the market can lead to significant disruption for brokers and mortgage applicants. Typically, we offer brokers 48 hours’ notice of such changes, but due to these unforeseen circumstances, we are providing 24 hours’ notice.”
Hall acknowledged the likely impact on the business service levels due to this commitment but requested patience from partners as they deal with the surge in activity expected over the coming days.
Fixed-rate products being withdrawn include offerings targeted at first-time buyers, Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) arrangements, owner-occupied properties, buy-to-let (BTL) landlords, limited company BTL, and contractors. The rates range from 4.57% to 6.07% for terms spanning five years to up until 31st December 2028.
To secure any of the affected products, brokers are advised to submit a full mortgage application with all fees paid by 5 pm on 9th June. To allow Saffron’s underwriters time to review any referrals, DIPs need to be submitted by midday.
Furthermore, Saffron has confirmed that, due to the current market conditions, it will not launch the previously planned 5.47% first-time buyer (FTB) 5-year fix or the 5.57% FTB JBSP 5-year fix.
