HSBC is preparing to exploit rivals’ weakness in the mortgage market with an audacious offer to match homeowners’ existing deals. Financial Times
The UK’s biggest bank, which has just 3% of the market, is targeting some of the 1.4m customers who come off cheap fixedrate deals this year to face a sharp rise in mortgage costs.
Many potential customers are finding they cannot find a home loan as banks, finding difficulties obtaining funding from the money markets, rein in lending.
HSBC will offer to match homeowners’ existing fixed-rate deals – including rates as low as 4.54% – for a further two years. The lender, which does not borrow from the money markets to finance mortgages, is gearing up to cope with three times its current level of business as it prepares to launch the offer to non-HSBC customers for a five week period.