Effective from 12 March, HSBC has increased pricing for selected residential and buy-to-let (BTL) products for switching existing borrowers, customers borrowing more, first-time buyers, homemovers, remortgage and purchase deals.
This is the second time in as many weeks that the lender has adjusted its mortgages in light of the conflict.
Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, said: “Swap rates rose sharply earlier in the week as markets reassessed inflation risks linked to higher oil prices and geopolitical tensions, and that pressure is now feeding through into mortgage pricing.”
Mendes said what stood out was how many rates had changed, adding: “When a lender of this size reprices across so many parts of the market, it often signals margins are being squeezed.”
He continued: “Swap markets have eased slightly today, with two- and five-year SONIA swaps falling back by around 10 basis points. That suggests some of the immediate volatility may be settling, but lenders tend to reprice with a lag after sharp movements in funding costs.
The big BTL planner: Key dates landlords need to know
Sponsored by BM Solutions
“If swaps stabilise at these levels, we may see pricing settle again, but the past few days show how quickly market sentiment can change when geopolitical events feed into inflation expectations.”
TSB also announced a 50-basis-point hike to all residential, BTL, product transfer and additional borrowing rates.
Further, Principality Building Society made increases of as much as 0.5% to residential, new build, BTL and holiday let pricing.
As for product withdrawals, Skipton Building Society said it would remove selected products from 9pm, including some two- and five-year fixed residential purchase options and its three-year fixed residential range.
Hinckley and Rugby Building Society announced a temporary withdrawal of its fixed rate mortgages from 13 March, while Precise Mortgages said it would pull its residential offering on 12 March and launch higher rates the next day.
