From The BBC:
Banks and building societies are trying to rebuild their profits at the expense of customers, according to Moneyfacts.The price of borrowing has continued to rise significantly, even though the Bank of England’s base rate has stayed at a record low, new figures show. Mortgage rates have seen the sharpest rise. Three months ago, the price of a typical two-year fixed mortgage was 4.65%. Now it’s 5.17%. Interest rates on credit cards have also risen, though by a smaller amount. The charges on cash loans have been steady since the start of the summer, although they are up by more than 2% since this time last year. Rebuilding ProfitsMost experts believe that banks are using the relatively low level of competition in the mortgage market to rebuild their profits.
At the moment just eight or nine big lenders are supplying the vast majority of mortgages. Michelle Slade, of the financial information website Moneyfacts, said lenders’ potential profit margins were the largest they had seen since…
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