A second major mortgage lender has started to withdraw its cheapest products in a sign that the recent price war among lenders might be ending.
Santander UK said eight five-year fixed-term products will be temporarily withdrawn from 10pm tonight.
That includes its most keenly priced mortgage, at 3.68% for borrowers with a deposit of at least 40% and a £999 fee.
Santander’s move follows the repricing of several mortgages by another major lender, Coventry Building Society, from today.
Brokers said that the recent rises in wholesale swap rates, which are linked to gilt rates, are behind the change in the mood in the mortgage market.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt is 4.23% currently compared with 3.75% in mid-September.
Nervousness about the level of public borrowing the government will take on in the Budget allied to the situation in Lebanon has made money markets wary, said commentators.