Banks and building societies wasted little time in passing on yesterday’s interest rate cut to existing mortgage borrowers, but new home buyers may not see this benefit. Financial Times

All the big lenders and many smaller building societies said within hours of the Bank of England’s decision that they would cut their standard mortgage rates by the full quarter-point.

Lenders can often take days or even weeks to announce rate cuts, and in the past many have failed to pass on the full amount to customers.

The reduction will shave £52 a month off interest-only repayments on a mortgage of £250,000, according to Hamptons International Mortgages.

Brokers were not convinced, however, that the rate cut would necessarily mean cheaper fixed-rate or tracker mortgages for new borrowers.