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TSB drops base rate email gaffe but mortgage lending soars

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  • 31/01/2020
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TSB drops base rate email gaffe but mortgage lending soars
TSB has been left red-faced after an IT mistake resulted in an email being sent to mortgage brokers about a reduction to the Bank of England base rate, which did not happen.  

 

The lender appeared to jump the gun with yesterday’s email titled ‘important base rate news’.

In the correspondence, TSB stated “the Bank of England has reduced the base rate by 0.25 per cent, to 0.50 per cent”.

The email went on to detail changes to its reversionary rates. Policymakers at the central bank had, in fact, kept rates on hold at 0.75 per cent.

Phil Leivesley, senior mortgage and protection adviser at Monica Bradley Associates, tweeted: “Bit of a whoopsie from TSB Intermediaries there, sending out a mass email confirming a Bank of England Base Rate Reduction that didn’t happen. Was there a big lunch at TSB today?”

And South Coast Mortgage Services director Gareth Davies also wrote on Twitter: “Nice to see TSB are on the ball today!!”

A TSB spokesperson said: “One of our suppliers sent an update to some Mortgage Brokers in error yesterday regarding the Bank of England base rate.

“We sent a follow up message to correct this shortly afterwards and have apologised for any inconvenience.”

 

Better results news

Meanwhile, TSB bounced back to profitability in 2019, and gross new mortgage lending increased by 21.5 per cent to £5.8bn, from £4.8bn in the year before.

The bank’s annual results showed profit before tax of £46m for the year, compared to a pre-tax loss of £105.4m in 2018.

Thanks to the growth in mortgage lending, customer loans increased overall by £1.1bn to £31.1bn.

However, competition pushed TSB’s net interest margin down to 2.75% (2018: 2.87%).

The lender said its outlook was one with intense competition, as mortgage margin compression and the repayment of the Bank of England’s Term Funding Scheme pressure funding costs.

Santander also revealed a drop in margins earlier this week.

TSB chief executive Debbie Crosbie said: “TSB is back to doing what it does best, focusing on serving customers and innovating to meet their needs. We have returned to growth, making good, steady progress in customer loans and deposits.

“While the market remains competitive, I am confident that with our new strategy and clear purpose, TSB is well positioned to deliver even more for our customers.”

 

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