The Bradford & Bingley, Co-operative bank and First Direct have today raised the cost of their fixed rate mortgages as Banks find it increasingly difficult to raise finance to fund mortgage deals. The Co-op saw the biggest rise as they increased their rates between 0.7% and 0.9%. The move by these three banks now takes the average cost of a fixed rate mortgage to over 7%. (more…)

First Direct, a HSBC company, took the decision to suspend its entire range of mortgage products in a bid to clear the backlog of applications amidst a period of unprecedented demand.

Other banks have today followed suit with Co-op withdrawing all two-year deals and Lehman Brothers removing itself from the UK market all together. (more…)