Rate pledges "irrelevant" says CML

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said that any decisions by lenders to pass on cuts in the base rate to their standard variable rate mortgages were "irrelevant" in most cases.

In a briefing ahead of today's verdict by the Bank of England monetary policy committee on the base rate, the CML stated that most mortgage holders were on fixed or tracker rates and thus would not be affected by such outcomes.

Despite this, some lenders have been criticised for not passing on the December reduction in base rates.

Consumer finance website moneyfacts.co.uk stated that of 103 lenders, 18 had made no change and 16 had made smaller reductions below 0.25 per cent.

One bank which has made clear that it is planning to pass on any rate cut is First Direct, which stated any change would be matched with immediate effect.

However, First Direct's parent company, HSBC, has predicted rates will stay on hold.


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