Halifax offers account holders mortgage discount
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Halifax is offering account holders a 0.2% discount on their mortgage if they deposit £1,000 into their current account each month.
Yesterday it launched a Rewards range of current accounts only available through its branches.
However a spokeswoman for Lloyds Banking Group says it is looking to bring out a similar deal through intermediaries in 2010.
Halifax customers that fund their current account with £1,000 or more each month or hold an Ultimate Reward Current Account will benefit from the rewards,
Rewards will give customers access to a number of exclusive product deals and at least a 0.2% reduction on the interest rate charged on their mortgage deal.
David Black, banking specialist at Defaqto says lenders are increasingly starting to offer exclusive deals to account holders.
He says: “We’ve already seen banks focussing their unsecured lending on their existing customers but now there is the beginning of a trend to target mortgage lending in the same way with a series of special mortgage offers available exclusively to current account customers.
“Banks see the current account as the main relationship builder with the customer and it also enables them to have a much better understanding of the financial capabilities of each customer.
“The cross-selling of other products on to the existing customer base is destined to become the key battleground as each bank strives to become the one-stop shop for all the personal finance needs of their customers.”
But he says many of the smaller providers, particularly in the building society sector, do not offer current accounts and will be unable to compete in this way.
He says: “Just because the rate offered by the special deal is slightly below the standard rate available to non- current account customers, it does not necessarily mean that you cannot get a better deal elsewhere. People should shop around for the best deals as loyalty does not necessarily pay.”
Abbey offer free valuations and a cash back on certain mortgages to their Abbey or Alliance & Leicester current account customers.
For example its two-year fixed rate mortgage with a £995 fee, 60% Loan-to-Value is reduced from 3.99% to 3.69% for their current account customers.
Nationwide Building Society is also offering 90% mortgages to their FlexAccount customers.
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Readers' comments (4)
Anonymous | 5 Jan 2010 4:43 pm
More Good news then..........
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John Gilbert | 5 Jan 2010 6:44 pm
With more competition expected in retail banking from new entrants, creating the opportunity to cement deeper customer relationships is understandable among main financial services providers. Indeed latest research shows the market share of the ten leading providers is up from 85 %in 2008 to 87% in 2009- presenting quite a challenge for government policy makers who have sought to introduce more competition to UK retail banking.
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sandyb | 6 Jan 2010 9:20 am
Did the MCCB not stop lenders from making rates dependent upon them having a current account or taking out certain products with the lender.
Again we have the FSA rolling over and capatulating to the big banks, who just do what they want.
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Anonymous | 21 Feb 2010 10:33 pm
Apparently if your looking to remortage with Halifax and have an exsisting mortage and current account with Halifax the quote from article "as loyalty does not necessarily pay." is only too true- This offer is not avaliable to you as of 19/2/10. It never ceases to amaze me just how unimportant the true loyal customer is made to feel and seems to miss out on any targeted loyal customer deals. Only new business counts. With other competitors aiming at people looking to remortage offering much more competitive rates maybe it's time consideration is given to rewarding those who they already "have a much better understanding of the financial capabilities of each customer."
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