LIBOR mortgage rates have ended

LIBOR has been discontinued as a benchmark for interest rates. This is a legislative change that all mortgage lenders have worked to implement. In line with this, we stopped using it to calculate the interest rates of any of our mortgages on 31 August 2021.

What was LIBOR?

LIBOR was the London Interbank Offered Rate. It was the rate at which major banks borrowed from one another.

Banks and building societies sometimes used LIBOR as a benchmark for determining interest rates on loans such as mortgages. The interest rates of some of our mortgages were calculated using LIBOR.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) no longer considers LIBOR to be a robust or sustainable reference rate. Following an industry review, legislative and regulatory changes were made to discontinue LIBOR. Financial institutions were required to move impacted customers to an alternative reference rate by 31 December 2021.

What changed?

We stopped using LIBOR on 31 August 2021. From 1 September 2021 we changed the reference rate on the LIBOR-linked part of your mortgage to the Bank of England Base Rate. So you remained on a tracker mortgage, just with a different reference rate.

We made sure you didn't suffer any financial detriment because of this, in that your new interest rate was no higher than if your mortgage had remained on LIBOR.

What is the Bank of England Base Rate?

Like LIBOR, the Bank of England Base Rate is a variable interest rate which increases or decreases based on changes in the wider economy.

The Bank of England Base Rate is the rate of interest paid to commercial banks that hold money with the Bank of England. It's set by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, and is widely used by banks and building societies to determine their interest rates.

What happens if I'm in arrears?

Please contact us to discuss your options. We have dedicated teams based here in the UK who will chat through your situation, and ensure any solutions agreed are tailored to your individual needs.

You can call us on 0800 072 9739 to speak to one of our friendly and trained colleagues. We're available Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, and Saturdays 9am - 12.30pm. Please note, this number will be closed on bank holidays.

There's also helpful information available on our Money Worries page, including many services where you can obtain free and impartial advice and help with money management and budgeting.

The mortgaged property (which may be your home) may be repossessed if you don't keep up repayments on your mortgage.