Barclays has announced it is cutting the cost of its mortgage arm Woolwich’s tracker rates, to mark reaching £100billion of mortgage lending.

Since the end of 2007, when the mortgage market was in sharp decline, mortgage lending at Barclays has seen a 42 per cent rise, which the bank says makes it “the fastest growing mortgage lender in the UK.”

To celebrate coming back to reach the £100billion milestone, Barclays is reducing the rates on Woolwich tracker mortgages by up to 0.41 per cent.

Barclays’ 42 per cent growth in the last three years has far surpassed the industry average of 3.50 per cent; its net lending grew by £4billion in the first half of 2010, while the market average was £2billion.

The main rate cuts will affect Woolwich mortgages with a 70 and 75 per cent loan to value. The 70 per cent deals will see a reduction of 0.41 per cent, bringing the cost down from base rate plus 2.49 per cent to base rate plus 2.08 per cent; the 75 per cent range will see the rate change from base rate plus 2.69 per cent to base rate plus 2.39 per cent.

Commenting, Mark Parsons, managing director of retail assets and deposits at Barclays, said: “Barclays has remained open for business throughout the testing times of the last few years and that is reflected in these figures. The strength of the growth shows that we remain firmly committed to the UK mortgage market and that we are actively lending more to homeowners and buyers than ever before.

“We’ve driven this growth by evolving and adapting our mortgage range to ensure we are meeting borrowers’ needs and providing long term value. Together with our independence, strong global funding ability and commitment to both the intermediary market and our branch distribution, this has helped to differentiate us and support the UK mortgage market.”

© Fair Investment Company Ltd

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