Kwasi Kwarteng to meet UK bank chiefs over mortgage market turmoil
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has called the heads of the UK’s largest retail banks to a meeting on Thursday to discuss turbulence in the mortgage market following his “mini” Budget at the end of last month.
Chief executives including Alison Rose at NatWest, Debbie Crosbie at Nationwide and Charlie Nunn at Lloyds are expected to attend the session.
The meeting with retail and commercial bank bosses is part of an “ongoing engagement” with financial services companies, one person said. Discussions are designed to get an understanding of lenders’ views on the mortgage market, according to a person familiar with the plan.
The Bank of England’s £65bn intervention in the gilts market on September 28 had helped calm gilt markets in recent days but UK government bonds came under renewed selling pressure on Wednesday, with the yield on 30-year gilts rising to 4.22 per cent in the morning.
Most banks have increased mortgage rates, with the average two-year fixed deal crossing 6 per cent for the first time in 14 years, according to data provider Moneyfacts.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:James Pickford
