Nationwide customers with tracker mortgages will not see further cuts in interest rates, even if the Bank of England drops the base rate again. The lender plans to use a rule in its mortgage contracts allowing it to freeze tracker rates when the base rate falls below 2 per cent. Its decision will affect more than 200,000 customers. The building society however, has promised to pass on future cuts to its customers on its standard variable rate. Halifax, which also has the clause stopping its tracker rates falling below a certain threshold, was told last month by the Financial Services Authority that its ‘collar’ was unenforceable. Several other small building societies also have similar rules.
