Feeling safer with a fix or time for a tracker?

The Co-operative Bank has launched a new competitive two-year fixed rate mortgage this week at a rate of 5.24%.

Unusually, the new fixed product matches the initial rate of the current best buy 2-year tracker and so will give customers a choice between a fixed and variable product on similar terms.

John Barker, Head of Mortgages at Co-operative Financial Services, said: “With the unpredictability of interest rates at the moment, we are now providing customers with the opportunity to choose between a fixed or tracker product at exactly the same initial rate”.

“It is difficult to predict with any accuracy what will happen to interest rates over a two-year period, so customers will obviously have to make decisions based on their personal circumstances and their own attitude to risk and need for payment security. Customers who like to be certain of their monthly repayments will benefit from a fixed rate product, whereas people who believe there may be further interest rate cuts on the horizon may be more inclined to opt for a tracker.”

Both these products are part of The Co-operative Bank’s range of green mortgages and as a result customers taking out this mortgage can benefit from a number of positive environmental features. For the duration of the mortgage, the Co-operative Bankwill make an annual donation to Climate Care to help tackle global warming. As houses are one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, the Bank’s annual donation to Climate Care enables them to offset around one quarter of an average home’s carbon dioxide emissions each year for the lifetime of the mortgage.