HSBC Standard Variable Rate Frozen at 6.25%

mrtaus

If like me, you have spent the past week scouring t'internet looking for any scrap of evidence that HSBC will be passing on the 0.5% interest rate cut onto its customers you may be interested in this article I found on the Daily Mail website today... and particularly the quote below.....

"Meanwhile HSBC, which is not part of the bail-out, yesterday froze its standard variable rate at 6.25 per cent.

A spokesman insisted: 'As a responsible lender, it is essential we price our loans according to the risk in the market.' "

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1077279/Mortgage-lenders-make-mockery-master-plan-unfreeze-market-making-loans-MORE-expensive.html

Great and I just completed our mortgage transfer to a HSBC SVR discount yesterday. Oh well, at least its still better that the 7% we were paying to intelligent Finance after our fixed rate expired!

koexelek

Their SVR is still better than most, even after their competitors have put their rates down

michaels

HSBC have a lower SVR cos they don't just have other lower rate variable rate deals that the other lenders have.

As they are benefiting to the tune of £35bn (?) via the specail liquidity scheme (taxpayers have given them money secured against our mortgages) I think it is scandalous that they are not passing on any of the interest rate cut that the government has brought in to try and help the housing market. The BoE shoudl deny them any of the special liquidity funds and then see whether they remain so arogant in their treatment of existing locked in borrowers :mad:

Kez100

Are HSBC involved with the Govt scheme? I didn't think they were. Are you thinking of HBOS?

minimike2

They are not obliged to cut the rate and like koexelek says its already lower than most other lenders SVR anyway.....

Why does everyone want something for nothing these days :rolleyes:

Scandal this, scandal that. Would you all rather that the banks make so little profit that the shares become worth zero, the entire financial system collapses and we end up with every banking institution nationalised? Then where would the competition be? There would be none. We are in recession, there is a global credit crisis and SVRs are not even linked to BBR.

Why can people not wake up and smell the coffee. GONE ARE THE DAYS OF CHEAP MONEY, money has been ARTIFICIALLY CHEAP the last 5 years. It was a mistake that has ended in disaster. With borrowing priced correctly, we shouldn't get back in the mess that has been brewing over the past few years.

Why people cannot see the bigger picture I don't know.

michaels

I believe all the banks have exchanged assets like mortgages for gilts under the special liquidity scheme - this is seperate from the 'bailout' where the govt is supplying capital.

Most other banks have an SVR but then offer a discount variable rate for those who ask for it and are not in a lock i period.

HSBC used to operate a SVR 'promise' that their svr would never be more than 1% above the BoE base rate but this was quietly dropped.

If the majority of banks are passing on the full cut but HSBC are not passing on any then they are just padding their margins which is one of the things that MSE'rs look out for as far as I know. Those who are locked in to an svr linked product with HSBC would not expect them to move their rate overnight to become 50 basis points less competitive compared to the market - them doing it when others are cutting rates is just an attempt to pass off a big relative increase with as few custoemrs noticing as possible.

Part of the reason the govt is bailing out the banks to such an extent is to help the mortgage market directly but also the economy that is at risk of recession by boosting disposable incomes. HSBC are benefiting from taxpayer money and should think about that when they ignore the govt attempts to loosen lending conditions.

Unless someone can argue that HSBC are not benefiting from the special liquidity scheme then they should behave in a manner suggesting they understand that there are also commitments as well as benefits from being a UK based bank.

opinions4u

6.25% still beats the vast majority of the market - even after others apply a 0.5% cut!

ruben

HSBC might have lower SVR than most others but that's because they charge very large up front booking fees that are non-refundable if the deal falls through and cannot be added onto the mortgage.

I think it's truly despicable when everyone is trying their best to keep financially afloat that HSBC don't pass on the rate cut in any shape or form.

Is there anywhere records of banks passing on cuts can be documented, to ensure future customers can be aware of a bank's general behaviour when thinking about variable mortgages?

This is particularly unscrupulous when you see that they have cut their ISA rates almost instantaneously!

guli

I think you have to remember that banking is a form of business and HSBC is a business too, no exeptions. The main purpose of most business is to generate profit.

If you find that they're being cowboys for not cutting the SVR, which there is absolutely no obligation for them to, you, as the customer, could always vote with your feet.

Best Regards

ruben

As I'm locked in the deal for two years I can't yet vote with my feet,

However, if enough of us stamp our feet and make some noise, it might generate enough publicity to put new customer's off/ or shame them into responding to the cuts.

magburner

LIBOR is at 6.18% today and base rate is at 4.5%.

Last week the 0.50% cut did nothing other than reduce profitability on base rate tracker mortgages by the same amount. Why should the bank take the hit?