NatWest rates up and plenty of others to follow

NatWest has made changes to its product ranges for both new business and existing customers.

New borrowers can expect a rate increase of up to 0.10 and 0.20 per cent on selected two- and five-year deals; for remortgages, rates will see a rise of up to 0.15 and 0.21 per cent on specified two- and five-year deals.

First-time buyers will face rises of up to 0.10 and 0.11 per cent on selected two- and five-year deals while those utilising Help to Buy shared equity for remortgages will experience increases of up to 0.10 and 0.21 per cent.

This upward movement - following a generally downward shift in rates in recent weeks - may be the start of things to come in late winter and early spring, analysts warn.

A spokesperson for broker John Charcol says: “Unfortunately, this is going to be a consistent theme amongst high street lenders over the next few weeks. As much as we would all want fixed rates to continue repricing downwards, Swaps just don’t allow lenders the room to be able to hold where they currently are.

“Those who acted last month to secure a deal will no doubt feel an element of relief for acting quickly and not holding out in the hope rates were going to continue repricing downward. It’s still worthwhile securing a deal and continue to regularly review the market up until completion or use a broker who can do this for you which would certainly be less stressful.”

Also in the NatWest changes which took effect at the start of the weekend, shared equity purchases will see rates increase by up to 0.10 and 0.20 per cent on specific two- and five-year deals while Green purchase and remortgage deals will suffer 0.10 and 0.20 per cent hikes.

For existing customers of the bank, those looking to switch will face rate increases of 0.10 and 0.05 per cent.