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Virgin Money Increase Rates up to 0.75% as market goes into Freefall

ended 25. March 2026

Virgin Money has just announced fixed rate increases of up to 0.75% across their Purchase, Remortgage, BTL and Retention ranges :

Is the market really this bad? Are lenders going overboard with recent increases? How long will this last? Your comments please …

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
Extreme rate increases from Virgin Money are going to be a real shock to borrowers and brokers, as the market is quickly unravelling before our eyes. Increases of this magnitude are extremely rare, but will have a serious knock-on effect on other high street lenders who won't want to be the cheapest in the best buy tables at the moment. When will this calm down is becoming harder to call as every hour passes.
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Dariusz Karpowicz
Director at Albion Financial Advice
0.75% in a single repricing is not a wobble. That is a lender running for cover. Virgin Money just told the market exactly how nervous they are, and the rest of the high street will follow before the week is out. When nobody wants to be the cheapest on the best buy tables, you know the mood has shifted from caution to outright fear.
The real question is whether this is 2008 redux or just a brutal correction. Either way, products are vanishing daily, rates are climbing by the hour, and borrowers who hesitate are paying for it. If you are mid-application, lock your rate today. Tomorrow's pricing is anyone's guess.
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Martin Rayner
Financial Adviser at Compton Financial Services
Swap rates have risen by nearly 1% in a month, and mortgage pricing closely follows these movements. Lenders aren’t acting in isolation—they’re responding to the cost of funding—so when swap rates move this quickly, repricing is inevitable. The real question isn’t whether lenders are overreacting, but whether the swap markets have moved too far, too fast.

Much of this volatility is being driven by geopolitical risk, particularly the situation involving Iran. Markets tend to price in worst-case scenarios, especially around oil supply disruption, which feeds into inflation and rate expectations.

If tensions ease, we could see rates improve, although likely not as quickly as they increased—meaning borrowing costs may stay higher in the short term. If tensions persist, elevated pricing is likely to remain for longer.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Managing Director & IFA at Mather and Murray Financial
Virgin look to kill off the housing market with a hammer blow for first time buyers and home movers. This is catastrophic for the mortgage lending market.
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Elliott Culley
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
The move from Virgin Money today is one of a lender that does not want to take on any new lending. With swap rates yo yoing mortgage lenders will price in a higher margin to cover against sudden spikes. With news of a peace plan potentially scuppered it will be some time before lenders get some confidence back in the market.