Good Bank... Bad Bank?

1945: The Lost Weekend - Billy Wilder

The most expensive financial costs are probably your pension, closely followed by a mortgage. So today's news of further lenders increasing their standard variable rate, despite the Bank of England retaining their base rate at 0.50% will cause many to question the ethics of Banks again. Today, Clydesdale and Yorkshire (readers of this blog will know that they are part of the same organisation) have decided to increase their standard variable rate from 4.59% to 4.95% from 1st May. This will mean increased borrowing costs for about 30,000 of their customers. However there is a slight twist, they also seem to suggest that if you wish to move to a different lender and do so before the end of July any exit fees (early redemption penalties) will be waived.  One might question why lenders would be helpful, I would suggest that this is all part of a timed strategy to tidy up a mortgage book and continue to work on improving their own balance sheet.

It often surprises me when I read industry statistics about how few people review their mortgage, yet will seem to get very worked up over the price of petrol - which is an insignificant cost when compared against a mortgage. This is something that as a financial planner I would encourage you to do. Solomon's do not arrange mortgages, but we can put you in touch with an excellent mortgage broker that can help you. However the first thing you should do is to contact your existing lender to determine what deals they would offer you as an existing customer, once you have this information a full assessment of the market will have some context.

Banks and Building Societies are set up to make money from you and whilst it may appear to be a significant effort to move from one to another, these days things have improved. The market is a competitive one, but most rely on your inertia to make the bulk of their profits, which in turn makes them lazy and makes for a less competitive market. So as you head off for the weekend, get out your mortgage statement and have a look at your rate, compare this against a Bank of England base rate of 0.50% and consider how much over the odds you are really prepared to pay, then consider how you might better use some of this to achieve other goals, even if its just being able to feel a little better at the petrol pumps.