Blog: The bell tolls for cheap SVRs

There is little incentive for borrowers to remortgage at the end of a fixed or discounted period if the alternative is a lender's cheap SVR with no arrangement fee, no early repayment charges and no stipulated LTV. With many economists agreeing that interest rates are unlikely to start rising until next summer, it is understandable why most borrowers are choosing to stay put for now. This is costing lenders serious money. Nationwide says the cost of borrowers sitting on its Base Mortgage Rate (BMR) was £300m in the first half of this year. Some 40% of Nationwide's borrowers are ...