News

Despite the economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic over the last few weeks, savers can still find some highly competitive rates in the savings charts this week. In fact, many of last week’s top rates have held and highly competitive rates are still available in the fixed rate bond, easy access and notice account charts.

This week, mortgage lenders made the headlines as they began temporarily withdrawing many of their mortgage products from the market. The reason for these withdrawals could be down to a number of factors and many lenders have revealed that they have been inundated with homeowners requesting mortgage repayment holidays. As the economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic continues, it is clearly having a dramatic impact on both the mortgage and housing markets.

Here, we’ve highlighted the lowest rates available in our charts, but mortgage borrowers should keep in mind that the lowest rate available might not be the best deal for their personal circumstances. Instead, borrowers should consider factors such as product fees, flexible features and incentives, all of which can be found on our mortgage charts, when choosing the best mortgage deal.

The 6 April is the start of a new tax-year and in 2020/21 there are a few, but significant, changes that those saving for their children’s future or a pension should be aware of.

More businesses should now qualify for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans Scheme (CBILS) according to an announcement made this morning by the British Business Bank, the entity managing the scheme for HM Government.
CBILS was announced recently by the Chancellor to provide finance of up to £5 million to small and medium sized businesses that are struggling due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This includes loans, asset finance, invoice finance and overdrafts. The loans come with 12-months interest free credit and can be for terms of up to six years for loans and three years for overdrafts and invoice finance.
The scheme has encountered criticism as businesses have struggled to access the scheme with complaints about high interest rates, delays and requirements for personal guarantees to provide enough security for the loans.