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Jimmy Rice, Money Blog Editor

Mortgage rates have risen as the Budget builds on expectations that further cuts to the base rate may be delayed – and while that’s bad news for borrowers, higher rates should be good for savers.

But Money can reveal that some of the same banks and building societies that have raised mortgage rates over the past three weeks have also, surprisingly, cut savings rates.

Savings Champion founder Anna Bowes said: “The latest inflation data should mean the Bank of England will pause again before cutting interest rates – good news for savers but bad news for borrowers.

“However, some providers have still made or are planning to reduce their savings rates.”

These include HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, Halifax, Barclays and First Direct, she said.

We spoke to four different brokers and they all confirmed that the same big names have raised their mortgage rates in the last three weeks.

We have also been informed that Santander is increasing mortgage rates and cutting savings rates.

Ranald Mitchell, from mortgage broker Charwin Private Clients, told Money: “It’s a bit unseemly!

“At a time when banks and building societies are rapidly raising mortgage rates, putting even more pressure on homeowners, their stingy cuts to savings rates reveal blatant profiteering at the expense of hard-working savers. This is a shameless double standard that puts corporate greed above the interests of customers.”

Justin Moy, managing director of EHF Mortgages, said savings rates were likely to be linked to the base rate, which was cut last month, while 90% of mortgage deals are financed through swaps/gold bonds, which are rising.

Criticism comes when lenders take weeks to reflect a cut in the base mortgage rate, he said.

He told Money: “We noticed that many lenders cut their tracker mortgage deals four to six weeks after the base rate change was announced, taking that extra margin for a while longer but responding much more quickly to savings rate changes by penalizing savers. “

Anna Bowes said that while linking savings to the base rate explains the fall in variable rate savings accounts, the fall in fixed rate bonds and ISAs is less explainable because they are linked to swap rates.

On a more positive note, Anna said that “there are other, mostly lesser-known providers who have increased rates since the last base rate cut.”

Here’s a look at the best rates currently on offer…

“So don’t settle for what you have,” Anna said. “If your bank or building society cuts your rate, see if you can earn more elsewhere. Even if you haven’t seen the decline yet, is there someone else with an account that could add valuable pounds to your pocket?

What have the banks/building societies told us?

A Barclays A spokesman said: “We regularly review our product offering and make changes where necessary. In recent weeks, we have seen increased volatility in swap rates, which is driving up mortgage rates across the market.

“To help our customers make their money work better, we regularly review and contact our customers if we think there is a Barclays savings product better suited to their circumstances and encourage them to check our range on our website, which is updated frequently .

“Rainy Day Saver rates are being reduced on 13 February 2025 from 5.12% AER/5.00% gross p.a. to 4.87% AER/4.76% gross p.a. for balances up to £5k, but will remain unchanged at 1.16% AER/1.15% gross p.a. for balances over £5k.”

All over the country said: “Nationwide has not made any savings rate cuts in response to the latest bank rate cuts. The reduction in savings rates occurred on November 1 by 0.20 percentage points due to changes in bank rates in August and was announced at the beginning of October.

“On the day of the November bank rate cut, we announced that we would be cutting our Standard Mortgage Rate (SMR) entirely for existing Tracker Mortgage customers from 1 December. We have also reduced our new business tracker mortgage rates by 0.25 percentage points.

“We have announced a slight increase in our fixed mortgage range to reflect the swap rate situation and rate changes occurring in the market.”

HSBCwhich also owns First Directdid not provide comments while Lloyds/Halifax didn’t answer.