Mortgage News
First Direct launches market-beating five-year fix
HSBC-owned internet bank First Direct has launched a five-year fixed rate at 65% LTV at 2.89%, joining other lenders competing in this range.
The direct-only lender is offering the loan from today with a £1,450 fee, indefinace of any must-discussed impending rate rise.
Woolwich and West Bromwich also released five-year fixes at 3.09% last week.
First Direct has also unveiled a range of fee-free low deposit mortgages at 90 per cent Loan-to-Value, including a two-year, fee-free fixed rate at 3.89% with no charges.
The HSBC-owned bank is reducing all fixed-rate mortgages in its range, as well as launching the UK’s cheapest 65% loan-to-value (LTV) five-year fixed-rate deal.
This follows votes for a 0.25% base rate rise from MPC members Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty, bringing the prospect of the rate rise ever closer.
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The vast majority of mortgage lenders are expecting a rate rise in 2015 or beyond, research from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has shown.
The trade body found almost half (44%) of lenders surveyed anticipated a rate rise in the first three months of 2015. A further 28% expected a rise in the second quarter with 11% believing rates would rise in Q3 2015 or later.