A statement issued by Managing Director Jim Coupe on behalf of Skipton International read: “Following last week’s Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Meeting and the Government’s subsequent mini-budget we continue to see the markets unfold. In response, Skipton International’s mortgage product range is currently under review.
“Any decisions we take will not be taken lightly, but will be taken in order to avoid further disruption for our customers. Customers with applications in progress are not affected by this.”
Skipton Building Society in the UK, along with Virgin Money, had halted mortgage offers for new customers as of this morning.
The Bank of Ireland had withdrawn all mortgages, while the Halifax said it would withdraw all mortgage products with fees attached.
Pictured: Jim Coupe, MD of Skipton International.
The pound had dropped against the dollar earlier this week after the UK’s new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng pledged more tax cuts on top of a £45bn package he already announced at a mini-budget last Friday.
This led to the pound dropping to it’s lowest level for nearly four decades, while inflation is at its highest for the same period.
The BBC reported on Wednesday that the Bank of England would “not hesitate” to hike interest rates after the pound hit record lows.
It also reported Samuel Tombs, Chief UK Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, as saying that if interest rates rise as predicted, the average household refinancing a two-year fixed rate mortgage in the first half of next year would see monthly payments jump to £1,490 from £863.