Santander deals blow to customers 'from tomorrow' and 'it was inevitable'

Santander deals blow to customers ‘from tomorrow’ and ‘it was inevitable’

Santander has today announced it is increasing all residential and Buy to Let fixed rates in the new business range from tomorrow, Wednesday 21 February — by up to 0.34 per cent. This includes New Build and large loan exclusives for residential clients.

It is also increasing selected residential and Buy to Let fixed rates in the product transfer range. There will be no change to tracker rates. Ranald Mitchell, Director at Charwin Private Clients, told Newspage : “The optimism of early 2024 is rapidly dwindling as Santander make notable increases to their fixed rate pricing.

“It’s bad news for the mortgage market, and with other lenders invariably following suit, bad news for mortgage borrowers. The road ahead is going to be less comfortable than many hoped for, at least until there are signs of inflation being brought under control.”

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Ben Tadd said: “These fixed rate rises across the board were expected given that Santander have been pricing so competitively. Based on swap rate volatility in recent weeks and a need to control their service levels, it’s no surprise that Santander have pulled the trigger and hiked their rates. This will help ensure their mortgage underwriting can maintain the process timescales they strive for by slowing the flow of new applications being received. Nevertheless, it’s not great news for borrowers and shows how volatile the market is.”

Shaw’s Financial Services’ Lewis Shaw said: “Unfortunately, Santander won’t be the last lender that is likely to increase their rates this week in response to volatile swap rates. It’s as important as ever that if you’re buying or remortgaging you get the documents over to your broker when they ask for them in the format that’s requested.

“This way, you’ll hopefully not miss out on lower rates because once they’re gone, they’re gone.” EHF’s Justin Moy said: “It was inevitable that Santander would follow the other High Street lenders, as they currently have some of the cheapest rates available in their quest for more market share.

“As has been said many times, rates will fall over time but there will be some bumps along the way before we get to those cheaper deals. Further falls in inflation and more pressure on the UK’s economy will be needed to see rates fall again.”