FCA to grill banks on failure to pass higher interest rates onto savers - reports

'Blatant profiteering'

Some of the biggest names in banking are being marched into the Financial Conduct Authority’s office to explain why they are passing higher interest rates onto mortgage holders but not savers.

HSBC, NatWest, Lloyds and Barclays are among the banks expected to meet with the regulator on Thursday (6 July), according to a report by the Financial Times. The difference in speed at which banks have raised mortgage interest rates as the Bank of England has increased the Base Rate is in marked contrast to the reluctance with which these same lenders have improved rates for savers, leading to accusations of profiteering. The Bank of England took the base rate to 5% in June, its 13th consecutive rise as it tries to lower inflation. Mortgage holders have borne the brunt of the increas...