Over 40% of mortgage products withdrawn since the mini-budget

As it stood on Wednesday, 935 mortgage products had been taken off the market, beating the previous record of 462 seen at the start of the pandemic. According to the latest data from Moneyfacts, as of today (29 September) that number has risen to 1,621, leaving 2,340 on the market.

Providers such as Halifax, Virgin Money, Skipton and Cambridge Building Society have all withdrawn some or all of their mortgage services.

Following an emergency statement from the Bank of England and a rare intervention from the IMF, pressure is on the Chancellor to rethink his economic plan and u-turn on many of the policies announced in the budget.

Despite this the Chancellor insists that he’s “confident” that his tax-cutting high-borrow economic strategy will grow the UK economy.

The Prime Minister appeared on local radio stations this morning facing questions from the public. Mortgages were a consistent theme throughout the appearances.

When questioned on what reassurance the Prime Minister can give to homeowners, she repeatedly insisted that interest rates are solely a matter for the Bank of England.

The Cambridge Building Society (CBS) has also temporarily paused new mortgage lending considering ongoing market volatility, and to manage its business volumes as it transitions to an upgraded IT platform.

Speaking to Credit Strategy, CBS’s chief commercial officer, Carole Charter, said: “We will launch a new mortgage range as soon as possible once we’ve successfully completed the upgrade.

“It was always our plan to temporarily pause our lending during this time, but the most recent market movements have prompted us to withdraw our range slightly earlier than scheduled.

“We are working to ensure our existing customers experience minimum inconvenience but appreciate there may be some disappointment to some borrowers who were looking to book an appointment with us in the near future.”

The Cambridge Building Society stressed that products and appointments for existing customers looking to switch to a new deal will remain unchanged.