FCA issues an update on switching in the mortgage market

The FCA has today released its latest statement on switching in the mortgages market. The number of mortgage borrowers not switching their mortgage deal when they could save money by doing so has declined significantly since 2016. We now estimate that borrowers of 370,000 mortgages could save money by switching their mortgage but do not, down from 800,000 in 2016. We estimate that around 110,000 would save less than £500 a year for 2 years, 110,000 would save between £500-£1,000a year for 2 yearsand 150,000 would save over £1,000 a year for 2 years. Given the rising cost of living, it’s important that borrowers consider their options and switch if they can where it meets their needs and circumstances and saves them money. Lenders and mortgage intermediaries should support customers to do this and we recently asked lenders to consider what more they can do to encourage mortgage borrowers to think about switching to a less costly option where that is available. We will continue to monitor the market, particularly given the impact on borrowers of increasing mortgage rates and the rising cost of living and consider what further steps we may need to take. Our statement includes more detail on our recent findings and the actions we think borrowers and lenders should take. Original Article Here