Rate cut passed on in full to Nationwide mortgage holders

Date:Monday 9th February 2009
Author: Rachel Fletcher

Borrowers who have taken out a Nationwide base rate mortgage are to benefit from a reduction in rates of up to 0.5 per cent, it has been confirmed.

With the Bank of England's monetary policy committee having recently cut the base rate of interest to a record low of one per cent, the lender has announced that it is to pass on such reductions in full.

In addition to customers on Nationwide base rate mortgages, the move will also benefit borrowers on Nationwide tracker mortgages, with those with loans of £150,000 set to see their monthly repayments fall by as much as £40.

Announcing the new cuts, Andy McQueen, mortgage director at Nationwide, said: "We've been consistent in reducing our base mortgage rate (BMR) since the series of base rate falls started in October last year, and in fact, our BMR is up to 1.5 per cent less than the standard variable rate offered by some other high street lenders."

At the same time, Nationwide has also reported that average house prices across the UK fell by a further 1.3 per cent in January as the property market continues to suffer from the global economic downturn.