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"Bravo to the smaller mutuals for giving borrowers a boost"

ended 07. January 2025

This morning, Market Harborough Building Society have announced residential fixed rate cuts of up to 0.4%, while Beverley Building Society and Vernon Building Society have also announced reductions. Newspage asked brokers if their example will be followed by the bigger lenders in the days ahead. Their views are below.

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
The smaller building societies are strutting their stuff with some tasty rate cuts. This shows how much nimbler they are compared to their bigger, more bureaucratic banking cousins. These moves from Market Harborough, Beverley and Vernon could indeed be the canary in the coal mine for broader market shifts. Smaller lenders typically have more flexibility to react quickly to market conditions, and with the property market needing a bit of a boost, it wouldn't be surprising to see the banking giants following suit, albeit with their characteristic tortoise-like pace compared to these sprightly building societies.
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Tim Bowen
CEO at Mutual Vision
Am very pleased to see this as it's encouraging news for borrowers who need all the support they can get at present. Smaller and more agile mutual lenders are taking the initiative and are looking to start 2025 on the front foot. It will be interesting to see how larger lenders respond to this. Often it's the smaller lenders who put their heads above the parapet first.
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Darryl Dhoffer
Founder at The Mortgage Geezer
In times of strife, it's always the smaller mutual building societies that venture out into the deep sea without a lifejacket, cutting interest rates. Meanwhile, the bigger banks and building societies are still going round in circles in the kids play pool. Bravo to the smaller mutuals for giving borrowers a boost.
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Katy Eatenton
Mortgage & Protection Specialist at Eatenton Finance
They're by no means the biggest lender out there but these are significant cuts from Market Harborough. You do sense that bigger lenders will make their moves this week and next as they look to kick off 2025 on a high and tap into the demand being caused by the stamp duty deadline.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
It's great to see the smaller lenders take the opportunity to improve or extend their offering. While they are never going to be volume-based lenders, their role with more complex cases is essential and to have pricing nearer the high street model makes them more attractive to borrowers.