HSBC pulls all its mortgage deals for new customers after being swamped by applications
HSBC is withdrawing ALL of its new customer mortgage deals after being swamped with applications as rates are set to rise
- Homeowners and buyers have rushed to make deals as rates continue to rise
HSBC has withdrawn all of its new customer mortgage deals after being swamped with applications from borrowers scrambling to refinance before rates climb even higher.
The lender gave borrowers just four hours’ notice yesterday that it would withdraw its new business, residential and purchase offers at 5 p.m.
However, it was forced to close shop even earlier at 3:30pm after a deluge of enquiries. There are no mortgage products available to new HSBC customers through Monday.
Homeowners and buyers scramble to secure deals as rates continue to rise amid the ongoing mortgage market turmoil.
Banks and building societies have taken out hundreds more home loans since May 24, when official figures showed inflation in April had remained higher than expected – 8.7 percent. Economists believe the Bank of England will have to raise its base rate – currently at 4.5 percent – to 5.5 percent in a bid to curb inflation. David Hollingworth, of mortgage broker L&C, said: ‘Lenders have to make tough decisions because the market moves so fast.
The lender gave borrowers just four hours’ notice yesterday that it would be withdrawing its new business, residential and buy-to-let offers at 5 p.m.
“We have not yet seen such a large lender withdraw such interest in 2023, it is quite radical.
HSBC topped the buy list because they hadn’t reviewed in a whole week. It’s no wonder it’s flooded, and it just shows that the speed is increasing.’
HSBC said: “To ensure we can stay within our operating capacity and meet our customer service obligations, we occasionally need to limit the number of new customers we can take on each day.”
Most lenders have already raised rates on fixed deals or pulled deals from the market, including Halifax, which increased its deals by up to 0.82 percentage points. Santander raised rates by up to 0.43 percentage point over the weekend. Barclays, NatWest and Nationwide also raised mortgage rates.
Justin Moy, of EHF Mortgages, said lenders priced their deals tactically out of reach on the expensive side, as a shield to avoid being swamped by new applications.