HSBC slashes variable mortgages rates by 0.5%

HSBC slashes personal loan rates

Loan rates at HSBC are slashed for customers borrowing between £7,000 and £15,000.
M&S slashes variable ISA rate by 0.5%

The interest rate on M&S Money's Variable Cash ISA rate has plummeted from 2.5 per cent to two per cent.

Friday, 09 January 2009 12:00

HSBC has cut its variable mortgage rate by 0.5 per cent and is slashing interest on tracker mortgages by the same amount.

The bank has made the move in line with the Bank of England, which cut the base rate by 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent yesterday.

It means HSBC mortgage borrowers on the bank's variable rate will pay interest of 3.94 per cent. Small and medium sized business customers with floating rate borrowing will also benefit from this cut.

Paul Thurston, HSBC's UK managing director, said: "They key issues for homeowners and businesses are availability of finance and affordability.

"HSBC has already pledged to lend up to £15 billion in mortgages this year, double what we lent in 2007 and with this latest cut we are doing everything in our power to ensure mortgages remain affordable."