Britain’s big lenders accused of cashing in on widespread shift to standard variable rates
Borrowers paid £1.2bn to some of Britain’s biggest banks in more expensive loans last year over fears of locking into cheaper fixed-rate deals.
Banks have been accused of making large profits off the back of borrowers hesitating to fix their mortgage bills in the hopes rate will come down and opting to temporarily roll on to more expensive variable loans.
Lloyds cashed in the most from customers rolling onto standard variable rates (SVRs) which shot up after the mini-Budget, generating £900m on the highest rate at 8.49pc, according to analysis for The Telegraph by Atom Bank.
This represented 7pc of its revenue and nearly a fifth of its profit after tax. HSBC, NatWest and Santander made a lesser £300m between them, the research found.