HSBC Split Loan Mortgage offer extended

Mortgage customers struggling with the dilemma of whether to continue with a low variable rate mortgage, or benefit from the security of locking into slightly higher fixed mortgage rates, are split 50:50, according to HSBC.

Last month HSBC launched the innovative Split Loan Mortgage, allowing customers to fix a proportion of their mortgage, while the rest of the loan remains variable, tracking the Bank of England base rate for the life of the loan, potentially giving customers the best of both worlds.

So far the majority of customers who have taken advantage of the mortgage offer chose to split the loan half and half, providing more evidence that homeowners are equally torn between fixing and tracking.

Martijn van der Heijden, HSBC's Head of Mortgages, said:  "The ongoing debate around when interest rates are likely rise as well as conflicting predictions on house prices is adding to the confusion for homeowners.  The Split Loan Mortgage is proving to be a popular solution, so to increase the choice, we are offering customers the option to bolt HSBC's longer term fixes together with our nil booking fee trackers, meaning they can split their mortgage for up to five or even seven years."

The existing split loan offer continues to allow customers to fix 25% or more of their mortgage for two years at a single rate starting as low as 2.49%. The new range opens up possibilities to fix for longer, for instance fixing a proportion of the mortgage for five years at 4.79% with an arrangement fee of £999 and combining this with a nil booking fee lifetime tracker, which tracks at 2.29% above the Bank of England base rate (currently 2.79%) for the life of the loan.