Savings and Mortgage Rates – following the Bank of England base rate change

On Thursday 3 August the Bank of England increased interest rates by 0.25% to 5.25%. We’ve been considering what’s best for our Members and have agreed that we’ll keep both our savings and mortgage rates as they are.

We do review the pricing of all of our products regularly to make sure we’re delivering the best value we can for all of our Members. It is important for us to balance the needs of both our saving and borrowing members when it comes to rate changes. We’re working hard to help as many people as possible to build or renovate sustainably – it’s the reason we exist and we’re grateful to our saving Members who allow us to support our borrowers as much as we can.

While we appreciate this may not be what our savings Members want to hear we’ve raised our savings rates four times this year and only increased mortgages twice. We’ll continue to review the position and will keep Members informed.

Base Rate linked products

For Members who have a product which is directly linked to the base rate, their rate will change. We’ll be writing out to those mortgage Members who are affected to make sure you’ve got the details. You’ll start paying your new monthly amount from September 2023, on your usual payment date.

You make an impact

When you save with Ecology you can be confident that your money has a real impact and a fair return. You help to support energy efficient buildings and sustainable communities. Our mission to build a greener society has never been more important or more urgent.

We support both residential and commercial and community mortgages. Many of the projects we support create affordable housing for the local community, a good example is how we supported families in Brighton.

If you want to know more and feel inspired about how your money is being used read about the projects supported by the money you save.

Thinking of switching?

You can check and compare the interest rates of our savings accounts and ISAs to see if we’ve another product that might suit your needs better. Again feel free to call the team if you’d like more information on switching your account.

If you’re thinking of switching, extending or reducing the term of your mortgage then you can talk through your options with one of our Yorkshire based mortgage advisers.

Payment difficulties

If you’re worried about making your mortgage payments, we want to help you. Please get in touch with us as soon as possible so we can help. Speaking to us won’t impact your credit score.

We’ve signed the new Mortgage Charter launched by the UK government. The Mortgage Charter is a set of universal standards to help with additional options if you’re worried by high interest rates. For more details go to ecology.co.uk/hub/mortgage-charter-june-2023/.

There is also more helpful information at bsa.org.uk/information/consumer-factsheets/mortgages-and-housing/what-to-do-if-you-can-t-pay-your-mortgage.

Previous Bank of England base rate changes:

• August 2018 – BoE Base Rate Change
• March 2020 – BoE Base Rate Change
• February 2022 – BoE Base Rate Change
• May 2022 – BoE Base Rate Change
• June 2022 – BoE Base Rate Change
• August 2022 – BoE Base Rate Change
• February 2023 – BoE Base Rate Change
• March 2023 – BoE Base Rate Change
• May 2023 – BoE Base Rate Change
• June 2023 – BoE Base Rate Change
• August 2023 – BoE Base Rate Change