New mortgage cuts announced

Two lenders have announced cuts to some of their mortgage rates.

Woolwich is cutting 0.6 per cent off two of its fixed-rate mortgage deals, the lender's parent company Barclays has said.

This means a two-year fixed rate is now 4.39 per cent and a three-year deal is 4.69 per cent.

Customers taking out loans at 70 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) can take a 4.99 per cent deal for two or three years, this being a rate reduction of 0.7 per cent in the first case and 0.5 per cent in the second.

Woolwich has also launched a lifetime tracker deal at 1.99 per cent above the base rate, with an LTV of up to 60 per cent and a £995 fee.

Meanwhile, Abbey is announcing 0.45 per cent cuts to all its five-year fixed-rate mortgages at LTVs between 60 and 75 per cent.