Market Financial Solutions (MFS) has confirmed it is extending the freeze on its bridging rates until October.

This comes despite the Bank of England (BoE) yesterday announcing a fourteenth consecutive base rate hike which took interest rates to 5.25%.

Specialist lender MFS had initially announced in June that it would not change its bridging rates until August, but it has now further committed to not moving rates for another two months.

Since December 2021, the BoE has increased the base rate from a record low 0.1% to its current 5.25%, the highest level since the global financial crisis in 2008. MFS said the central bank’s rate hiking cycle has resulted in a “great deal of uncertainty” across the mortgage and specialist lending markets, including rate changes and product withdrawals.

The lender statedthat, in response, it is looking to provide certainty to brokers and borrowers by holding rates across all its bridging products.

MFS CEO, Paresh Raja, commented: “The constant changing of rates, along with regular product withdrawals, are major headaches for borrowers and brokers in today’s property market. At MFS, thanks to the strength of our funding lines and the success of our growing loan book, we are in a position to commit to a rate-freeze, providing brokers and their clients with much needed certainty.

“Positively, inflation is now falling at a healthier pace, and the BoE’s latest base rate hike was smaller than had previously been expected. So, while there will undoubtedly still be challenging times ahead for the UK property market, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting a little brighter. An end to sky-high inflation and the hiking cycle will, in turn, bring a sense of calm and optimism to the sector.”

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