Lloyds 'first to cut rates'

High street lender Lloyds TSB and its subsidiary Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) claim to have been the first mortgage lenders to cut their fixed-rate mortgages following the base rate decision last week.

According to Lloyds TSB, the move follows its decision to pass on to its existing customers with tracker-rate deals the full amount of the Bank of England''s 1.5 per cent interest rate reduction.

Stephen Noakes, marketing director of C&G, said: "We want to do all we can to help our customers in these difficult times."

"Swap rates, which have steadily reduced in recent weeks, have now dropped further so we will pass on these savings," he added.

Fixed-rate products reduced by the lenders include their two-year 60 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages and its two-year 75 per cent LTV deals.

In related news, the link between the country''s base rate and the interest rates from leading lenders is becoming increasingly "frayed", according to the Independent.

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