HSBC cuts rates across entire mortgage range

HSBC has announced its new mortgage rates, with cuts by up to 0.4% on some products.

The largest cut applies to a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 75% loan-to-value, which is now available at 1.64% with a £999 setup fee. Two-year tracker mortgages at both 70% and 75% LTV have also been cut by 0.4%, and are available at 1.69%.

One of the lowest rates now available is the 2-year fixed rate mortgage at 60% LTV. This has only been cut by 0.05% but still makes it a very low 1.19% at this level.

Strong market in the climate

Michelle Andrews, the Head of Buying a Home at HSBC UK, felt that the housing market was one of the few performing well during the current climate.

Despite the obvious challenges, the housing and mortgage markets are quite lively. This rate cut by us, with eleven mortgages reduced by 0.30% or 0.40%, including those at 90% LTV, means getting onto or up the property ladder with HSBC UK, has become more affordable.

Michelle Andrews

In total, the bank has reduced the rates on 30 different mortgage products.

First-time buyers targeted

The rate cuts comes just three weeks after HSBC re-introduced mortgages at 90% LTV, aimed at supporting first time buyers and homeowners with low equity.

Customers on the 90% LTV mortgages can borrow up to £400,000 and are available for up to 35 years, with two- and five-year fixed rates available. Those rates have also been cut in the latest announcement.

I am pleased and proud to announce that we will be re-introducing mortgages at up to 90% LTV. These mortgages build on our significant support for brokers and mortgage customers throughout 2020 and will be available across the board — for home purchases, first-time buyers and to those remortgaging — all up to a maximum of 35 years.

The new lockdown will undoubtedly present challenges, but the experience of overcoming numerous difficulties during the original lockdown, for example making more use of automated valuations, will be invaluable. We are all seeking a return to normal, although for many it will feel like we may not see that for a while. With us returning to the higher LTV space, hopefully, that is a little bit of welcome normality.

Michelle Andrews

In the last few months, other major banks have looked to take advantage of the housing market by reintroducing 90% LTV mortgages, including Halifax and Natwest.

HSBC are the sixth-largest mortgage lender in the UK and are considered part of a ‘Big 6’ with Lloyds, Nationwide, RBS, Santander and Barclays. In recent years they’ve had a 7% share of the UK mortgage market.