Building society boss in mortgage rate pledge

Skipton Building Society customers will see the benefit of any cuts to the base rate made by the Bank of England's monetary policy committee tomorrow, chief executive David Cutter has insisted.

Mr Cutter noted that the lender has previously said that its standard variable rate will never be more than three per cent above the level of the base rate.

He continued: "Even with this at its lowest level for 315 years, we will honour our promise."

If the base rate is reduced, he concluded, this would mean the 15,000 mortgage customers at the building society will save money as the benefits of the reduction are felt in their monthly bills.

A cut in mortgage costs may encourage more people to buy a home.

Meanwhile, the number of mortgages approved for house purchases in January remained unchanged from December at 31,000, Bank of England figures revealed last week.