This includes its two-year fixed mortgage at 95 per cent LTV with a £999 fee. This has been cut from 3.99 to 3.74 per cent and the fee-free equivalent has been reduced from 4.29 to 3.99 per cent. 

The 90 per cent LTV two-year fixed with a £999 is now priced at 2.99 per cent after a 10 bps reduction. 

Two and five-year fixed mortgages at 80 per cent LTV have been reduced by 0.10 per cent. 

A five-year fixed product at 75 per cent LTV with a £999 has been cut to 1.54 per cent. Meanwhile, at 60 per cent LTV, the five-year fix with a £999 fee has been reduced to 1.24 per cent while the fee-free option has been cut to 1.54 per cent.  

The bank continued on its drive to roll out to the whole broker market with the addition of more than 100 firms in the last eight weeks. 

HSBC also said it completed more mortgages in March than in any previous month it had offered home loans, including 3,000 mortgages for first-time buyers. 

Michelle Andrews, HSBC UK’s head of Buying A Home, said: “It has been an incredibly busy time for us, and we have seen all of this with lockdown measures still in place. I am extremely proud of my teams who are delivering customer-focused service on a daily basis. 

“This gives me great hope for HSBC UK providing a greater share of mortgages, and hope and excitement for the mortgage and housing markets post-lockdown.” 

The Nottingham returns to 95 per cent LTV lending 

The Nottingham has added a 95 per cent LTV product to its range as part of its re-entry into low deposit lending. 

The mutual withdrew from the mortgage market completely in September before slowly returning earlier this year, with its most recent launch being 90 per cent LTV mortgages. 

The 95 per cent LTV is a five-year fix with a rate of 4.1 per cent. It offers a free valuation and free legals for remortgages. 

Nikki Warren-Dean, The Nottingham’s head of intermediary sales, said: “A year on from last lending at 95 per cent LTV we are pleased to have this product available, and hope it appeals to first-time buyers with a lower deposit looking to get on the property ladder.” 

Warren-Dean also warned on the product’s availability and cautioned it may pulled at short notice.  

She added: “We’re expecting this product to be popular so our message to brokers is to submit well-packaged cases to us as soon as possible. 

“No matter who the lender is, product ranges can change at relatively short notice, particularly in the current climate, so we would encourage brokers who have an accepted decision in principle to submit a full application at their earliest convenience.” 

Vida launches limited edition mortgages 

Vida has released limited edition residential mortgages at 85 per cent LTV. 

The mortgages are eligible within its Vida 1 range for borrowers with minor credit impairments. 

There’s a two-year fixed set to 4.09 per cent and a five-year fixed priced at 4.24 per cent. The products are available for purchase and remortgage with a maximum loan size of £500,000. 

The lender is also launching fee saver products to the Vida 1 range up to 70 per cent LTV, including a two-year fixed with a rate of 3.59 per cent and a five-year fixed at 3.74 per cent. 

These mortgages are fee-free and have a £49 assessment fee. The maximum loan sized offered is £350,000 and the lender will carry out a free valuation on properties worth up to £500,000. 

Richard Tugwell, director of mortgage distribution at Vida, said: “Although there are reasons for optimism, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the financial circumstances of millions of people across the UK.  

“The long-term implications of the crisis mean there is a new generation of borrowers with impaired access to credit who will need the support of specialist lenders to help them despite their complex situations.”  

He added: “Our new product launches today are another step in achieving this, and we’re confident that these offerings are a great solution to help borrowers who have smaller deposits or who find that the costs associated with home buying restrict their home ownership plans.” 

The Tower Bridge Funding 2021-1 batch of owner occupied and buy-to-let mortgages is the sixth residential mortgage-backed securitisation (RMBS) listed by the firm.

Belmont Green said the transaction was oversubscribed by between 1.5 times and 3.8 times across the tranches, with several investors new to the programme.

“This strong market demand helped Belmont Green to achieve its lowest cost of funding to date, with the senior notes pricing at 90 basis points over Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA),” it said.

The deal was supported by Barclays, J.P. Morgan and Santander.

Anth Mooney, CEO of Belmont Green, (pictured) noted the Covid-19 crisis had dramatically altered the financial lives of families and individuals across the UK and there were now many more borrowers finding their circumstances do not fit traditional credit-scoring models.

“This latest RMBS deal will allow us to help many more customers as the UK looks to get back to some sort of normality in the months ahead,” he said.

John Rowan, CFO, added the transaction provided clear evidence that investors were recognising the potential for the specialist lending sector to grow in the months ahead.

“We knew there was strong investor support after our securitisation last summer and have been delighted with the reception for this deal. Our investor base continues to grow, and we appreciate that support,” he added.

Sedgwick is currently on gardening leave until late September and starts at Tandem Bank as MD of mortgages on the 1 October.

The first female chairman of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA) has stepped down from the trade body role and Jeremy Duncombe, managing director at Accord will move into the role immediately from his current deputy position.

Sedgwick worked to ensure the association’s regular executive committee meetings were able to continue remotely, hosting these sessions alongside a range of virtual member events throughout 2020.

Her leadership has helped IMLA navigate the challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis, and Sedgwick has been key in lobbying for government support for non-bank lenders throughout this period, the trade body said.

Since accepting her new role, the bank has submitted an application to join IMLA.

Kate Davies, executive director of IMLA, added: “I am very grateful to Louisa for all the hard work she has done during her time as chairman – some of which is not directly visible to all members, but which is nonetheless extremely important in representing members’ views to those who need to hear them.

“She has been pivotal in adding value to our membership throughout an extremely challenging 14-month period, and it’s disappointing that she’s unable to continue in this role for the remainder of her term. We wish her every success in her new role and look forward to welcoming her back into our ranks later this year.

“In the meantime, we’re delighted that Jeremy, who has long been a trusted member of IMLA’s management committee, is to take over as chair.”

Louisa Sedgwick, former chairman of IMLA added: “IMLA plays a fundamental role in supporting intermediary lenders by providing them with a unified voice, as well as a forum to discuss and debate key industry issues.

“I would have loved to have finished my full term as IMLA’s first female chair, however, I know the association is in safe hands with Jeremy.”

Jeremy Duncombe, chairman of IMLA said: “We’re all sad to see Louisa step down and we look forward to welcoming her back as soon as possible. She has made great strides in her time as chairman, and I look forward to picking up where she left off, working hard to support IMLA’s membership over the coming months.”

The 90 per cent LTV exclusives are applied to two and five-year fixes with rates starting from 2.99 per cent. The deals have a £1,999 fee and come with a free valuation.

Clydesdale has also reduced rates on its professional and newly-qualified professional range at 85 per cent and 90 per cent LTV by up to 0.12 per cent, with these products now starting from 2.76 per cent.

For mainstream borrowing, the 85 per cent LTV two and five-year fixed rates have been reduced by up to 0.14 per cent, the 80 per cent LTV full capital and interest five-year fixes trimmed by up to 0.10 per cent and the 75 per cent LTV two and five-year fixes reduced by up to 0.12 per cent.

Vida slashes rates

Vida Homeloans has cut interest rates on its residential mortgage products by up to 95 basis points (bps), with cuts to rates on its specialist buy-to-let offering as well.

Reductions apply to the Vida 1, 2 and 3 core residential purchase and remortgage ranges and the lender said the cuts made its “prices some of the most competitive in the specialist market”.

The biggest cut of 95bps has been made to its Vida 1 five-year fix at 80 per cent loan to value (LTV) which now has a rate of 3.94 per cent.

The Vida 1 residential range also saw several other significant rate cuts, including the 75 per cent LTV two-year and five-year deals cut by 74bps and 65bps respectively to 3.18 per cent and 3.54 per cent.

Other changes to Vida’s residential offering include rates on all products in the Vida 2 range cut by up to 40bps and rates on all products in the Vida 3 range cut by up to 25bps.

Its Vida 1 buy-to-let houses in multiple occupation and multi-unit freehold block (HMO/MUB) range has also seen rates trimmed by 20bps at both 70 per cent LTV and 75 per cent LTV.

Earlier this week, Vida announced the managing director of mortgages Louisa Sedgwick was leaving with Richard Tugwell appointed as director of mortgage distribution.

Commenting on the rate cuts, Tugwell said: “A strong specialist lending sector that offers competitive rates and innovative solutions has never been more important and these rate cuts are just one step towards achieving this.

“Vida is wholly committed to making continuous refinements to its products and services, so that intermediaries and customers have access to the financial solutions they need to achieve home ownership.”

Vida CEO Anth Mooney added that Vida had learned a lot over the past 12 months.

“We now have the opportunity to improve our competitive position and focus on supporting those underserved borrowers whose circumstances have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

“We have invested in new processes, streamlined the way we underwrite, reduced the documentation requirements for intermediaries and recruited new experienced underwriting resources to ensure that our new business capacity is significantly expanded.”

Newcastle Building Society

Meanwhile, Newcastle Building Society has added a pair of 85 per cent LTV products for first-time buyers, re-mortgagers and home movers.

The £999 fee version is available at 2.7 per cent with the fee-free deal at 2.8 per cent – both have free valuation and include two years early repayment charges.

John Truswell, head of intermediary mortgages at Newcastle Building Society, said: “We’re always looking at the changing needs of the market and have evolved our proposition to suit brokers and their clients.

“These new 85 per cent products will support a variety of borrowers including first-time buyers, home movers and existing home owners looking to remortgage.”

Richard Tugwell will be taking up the position of director of mortgage distribution, Vida added.

Sedgwick (pictured) has been at the lender for almost five years, initially joining as director of sales – mortgages in the summer of 2016.

She was promoted to managing director of mortgages at the start of last year and has seen the lender through the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time she became the first woman to be elected as chairman of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA).

Sedgwick previously spent two and a half years at Leeds Building Society after nearly two decades with Bradford and Bingley.

Tugwell appointed

Tugwell joins Vida from Together where he spent almost four years as group intermediary relationship director.

He has more than 30 years’ experience in the UK intermediary market and was formerly director of intermediaries at Virgin Money and an ex-director of IMLA.

Vida said Tugwell would be joining as it looks to accelerate growth plans with a series of significant product and service improvements over the next few months.

Vida CEO Anth Mooney said: “I’m thrilled to announce that Richard will be joining us for the next phase of Vida’s journey.

“We are investing to improve our products, pricing and service levels to take advantage of the growing specialist market post-Covid and, having worked closely with Richard for over 20 years, I know that there is no-one better equipped to help us deliver our growth ambitions.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Louisa for her contribution to Vida. She has been an important part of the Vida story and we wish her well for the future.”

Tugwell added: “The specialist lending sector is an important and growing part of the wider mortgage market.

“Vida has ambitious plans for the future, and I am delighted to be coming on board for the next exciting stage in its journey. I look forward to working with Anth again and with Vida’s highly experienced leadership team and can’t wait to get involved.”

Mortgage Solutions has contacted Sedgwick.

Rates within its Vida 1 homes in multiple occupancy (HMO) and multi-unit blocks (MUB) range start from 3.29 per cent for a two-year fixed mortgage at 70 per cent loan to value (LTV), reduced from 3.69 per cent.  

In the same range, the five-year fixed at 70 per cent LTV has been cut by 30 basis points (bps) to 3.69 per cent.  

Elsewhere, the core two-year fixed buy-to-let mortgage at 70 per cent LTV has a rate of 2.89 per cent while the five-year fixed alternative is set to 3.29 per cent following a 0.1 per cent reduction on both. 

For ex-pat borrowers, rates have been reduced by five bps. This includes the two-year fixed at 70 per cent which now has a rate of 3.59 per cent and the five-year fixed option with a rate of 3.89 per cent.  

Louisa Sedgwick (pictured), managing director of mortgages at Vida, said: “Britain’s private rented sector plays a critical role for millions of people across the UK, but just like many others, landlords have not been immune from economic impact of Covid-19.  

“A strong specialist lending sector that offers competitive rates and innovative solutions has therefore never been more important. Our rate changes today means we are able to provide landlords with greater choice and flexibility so that they can continue to provide housing for those who need or want to rent.” 

TSB is making the changes to its purchase and remortgage deals with £1,995 and £995 fee options.

The two-year fixes in its 60 per cent and 75 per cent loan to value (LTV) tiers have been cut by 30bps.

For example, the 60 per cent LTV deal with a £1,995 fee is now 1.49 per cent, while the £995 fee product is now at 1.69 per cent. The 75 per cent LTV versions are at 1.69 per cent and 1.89 per cent respectively.

In it’s five-year fixes, the 60 per cent LTV products have been reduced by up to 10bps, to 1.74 per cent and 1.89 per cent respectively.

TSB has also made some rate changes to its product transfer range.

Vida Homeloans

Meanwhile, Vida has reduced its Vida 1 range of buy-to-let products by up to 50bps.

The two-year fixes are now at 2.99 per cent for 70 per cent LTV and 3.14 per cent for 75 per cent LTV.

And the five-year fixes are 3.39 per cent and 3.49 per cent at 70 per cent and 75 per cent LTV respectively.

The products are available for purchase and remortgage and on single family dwellings, but not for expats.

Vida has continued to complete purchases on its buy-to-let range but has paused purchases applications for residential deals to help service cases before the stamp duty holiday deadline of 31 March.

From 25 November the lender is restricting all residential deals to remortgage only.

It is also withdrawing all Help to Buy, First Home Fund and Right to Buy products.

The minimum loan size for all BTL and residential cases is being further increased to 150,000.

And all BTL mortgage at 80 per cent loan to value are being withdrawn.

This is the third such move Vida has made since re-entering in August. Earlier this month it withdrew some Help to Buy products, increased various rates and increased the minimum loan value to £100,000.

New submissions and pipeline cases

Brokers must submit decisions in principle under the expiring products and criteria by 8pm on 24 November. After this a product from the new range must be selected to proceed.

For any new or pipeline cases potentially impacted by these changes, all mandatory documents must be uploaded with fees paid and progressed to Application Received stage by 8pm on Thursday 26 November.

A spokesperson from Vida said: “Vida has received an incredibly positive response from intermediary partners since returning to lending, and we have seen an unprecedented number of applications.

“Despite making a number of product changes during October and November, applications continue to spike. Protecting service levels remains a priority for us and we have therefore taken decisive action by making a further number of temporary changes to our proposition.

“The impact of the crisis resulting in a higher demand for specialist lending, along with the impending deadline of the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday and Help to Buy scheme means this is an incredibly busy time for the mortgage market.

“At Vida, we are striving to provide quick outcomes for our customers, while maintaining our commitment to lending responsibly as we continue to assess each application case by case.”

The lender said it was making the moves to protect service levels for intermediaries who have already submitted cases to it.

Vida previously reduced the range of mortgage available at the start of October after it re-entered the market in August.

In its latest changes, the minimum loan size has been increased to £100,000 for all remaining products, with Help to Buy products on adverse tiers Vida 2 to Vida 5 being removed.

It has also increased interest rates on residential two-year deals at 70 per cent and 75 per cent loan to value (LTV) products and five-year 80 per cent LTV products

The two-year rates start at 3.59 per cent for the Vida 1 range at 70 per cent LTV and rise to 5.69 per cent for the Vida 5 range at 75 per cent LTV.

The five-year versions at 80 per cent LTV start at 4.89 per cent and rise to 5.59 per cent for Vida 4.

A Vida spokesman said: “Vida has received an incredibly positive response from intermediary partners since returning to lending.

“We are seeing unprecedented application volumes, and as a result we have now made several temporary changes to our product range and criteria.

“This is to protect service levels for intermediaries who have already submitted a case to us. We are committed to returning to offering a broader product range as soon as we can.”

The lender pulled out of the mortgage market completely in March due to a lack of liquidity facilities available to non-bank lenders. 

Vida then returned to lending up to 85 per cent loan to value (LTV) in September and amended its criteria to align with payment holidays, furloughed borrowers and those who had received bounce back loans. 

It now says an “overwhelming response” to its return and “unprecedented demand” has resulted in the decision to withdraw products. 

The lender has retracted its two-year fixed mortgages for residential and buy-to-let borrowers at 80 and 85 per cent LTV as well as the five-year option at 80 per cent LTV. 

Its two-year fixed Help to Buy and right to buy products have also been pulled. 

The mortgages that have seen rate increases include the two-year fixed buy-to-let mortgages at 70 per cent LTV and 75 per cent LTV, which have gone up by 15 basis points (bps). 

Five-year fixes for buy-to-let borrowers at 70, 75 and 80 per cent LTV have also risen by 15bps. These changes will be applicable to the lender’s Vida 1 and Vida 2 borrowers. 

Across its residential range, five-year fixed products available to Vida 1, 2 and 3 borrowers have increased by 20bps at the 70, 75 and 80 per cent LTV tiers. 

The right to buy five-year fixed product has been increased by 20bps and the Help to Buy five-year fixed has gone up by 30bps. 

Decisions in principle for current rates must submitted by close of business on Monday 12 October. Applications, together with all relevant mandatory documents, must be uploaded by close of business on Thursday 15 October. 

Louisa Sedgwick (pictured), managing director mortgages at Vida, said: “Following our relaunch back into the intermediary market in September, we have received an overwhelming response from our intermediary partners and are seeing unprecedented application volumes.  

“As a result, we are temporarily withdrawing a number of our products in order to protect our service to intermediaries and their customers.”  

Sedgwick said the lender expected to have a smaller product range for a limited time while it processed its pipeline.  

“We want to make sure that we maintain strong service standards whilst dealing with the incredibly strong application volumes we have received in recent weeks. 

“As ever, we remain 100 per cent committed to intermediaries and will return as soon as possible with our full product offering, including loans up to 85 per cent LTV,” she added.