moneysupermarket.com: Post Office mortgage announcement

Commenting on Post Office Financial Services offering mortgages in conjunction with Bristol & West in the North East of England from tomorrow, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com, said: “The Post Office brand has traditionally done well on low-cost or low-risk financial products such as guaranteed savings accounts and credit cards but mortgages are a completely different ballgame. It is surprising for Bristol & West to use a brand which is untested in a product area of this complexity.

“In an environment where consumers are being increasingly squeezed, they are naturally looking for the lowest headline rate, and their heads are not going to be turned by the Post Office’s best rate of 6.09 per cent, even with its relatively low arrangement fee. We always like to see competition in the mortgage market but I can’t see this proving a threat to the more established lenders who are able to offer much more competitive deals.”