NatWest and HSBC cut selected fixed mortgage rates from 15 October, with NatWest's 90% LTV five-year fix down to 5.39%

NatWest and HSBC are both reducing selected fixed mortgage rates from Thursday 15 October, with NatWest trimming five-year remortgage deals at 85% and 90% loan-to-value by up to 0.17 percentage points and taking its 90% five-year fix to 5.39%. The cuts come even though swap rates, which lenders use to price fixed deals, have risen over the past month, with five-year swaps at 4.723% on 13 October against 4.619% a month earlier, which points to large lenders competing for business rather than passing on cheaper funding. For buyers and remortgagers, this means slightly better pricing this week, particularly at higher loan-to-value bands, and HSBC's changes reach remortgage and buy-to-let products as well as purchases. It is a modest easing, not a turn in the cycle: fixed rates remain well above where they were earlier this year, and further moves will depend on the next inflation figures and the Budget later this month.