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Mixed Bag from Barclays with Rate Changes announced

Journalist: Justin Moy, Contributing Editor

ended 10. October 2024

Barclays are the latest lender to re-tune their mortgage rates, mostly small improvements but some increases on selected products. Mainstream lenders have a difficult balance to strike amid recent Swap rate increases and ongoing demand for market share. Newspage asked brokers for their views, below.

 

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Elliott Culley
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
Barclays reducing some products whilst increasing others should be seen as a positive move right now. With swap rates increasing it could be very easy for any mortgage lender to increase rates across their entire range. The fact Barclays have announced a more measured response may indicate they think the recent rise in swap rates could only be temporary.
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Gabriel McKeown
Head of Macroeconomics at Sad Rabbit - Substack Newsletter
As the mortgage market teeters on the edge of a potential rate reversal, Barclays has become the latest lender to recalibrate its mortgage rates, offering a mixed bag of improvements and increases that reflect the current market's precarious equilibrium. This move underscores the complex dynamics currently at play, where short-term volatility is increasingly pronounced. This is due to lenders' heavy reliance on swap rates for pricing mortgage products, meaning that rapid increases in these rates can precipitate sudden changes in offerings. This relationship underscores the delicate balance lenders must strike between maintaining competitive rates and protecting their profit margins. Despite the long-term trajectory for mortgages remaining downward, these latest hikes indicate that this trend is likely to be interspersed with periods of volatility and uncertainty. In the high-stakes game of mortgage pricing, Barclays has played a calculated hand, but the true winner remains to be seen.
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Simon Bridgland
Director at Charwin Private Clients
Barclays have decided which side of the line they want to stand on. By lowering certain rates as many other lenders increase, they are well and truly putting up a fight to secure business and close out 2024 on a high.
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Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
Barclays appears to have exhausted its options for further interest rate reductions, likely seeking to maximize business opportunities for the remainder of the year. As swap rates continue to rise, this could mark the final significant rate cut from a major lender.
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Hannah Bashford
Director at Model Financial Solutions
Nobody wants to be top of the pile when things are unstable and the small tweaks from Barclays would signify that they’re still keen to lend but don’t want to be left at the top alone. Locking in rates when they are available should be a priority and regularly assessing the rate secured has become the norm for any adviser who has their customer's best interests at heart.