HSBC named 2008’s top mortgage lender

by Gill Montia

Story link: HSBC named 2008’s top mortgage lender

Independent mortgage adviser, mform.co.uk, has named HSBC as the most consistently competitive mortgage provider of 2008, having stolen the title from Furness Building Society, which received the accolade in 2008.

mform assesses the mortgage market using a points system, awarding one point when a lender makes an appearance in the top ten best deals.

The firm monitors mortgages across all product sectors based on the true cost of a loan, including all fees.

It describes HSBC as having dominated the UK mortgage market throughout the year, which may come as a surprise as the bank’s chief executive, Michael Geoghegan, recently made it clear he would not respond well to Government demands to lower rates.

HSBC has not had an easy year but compared to its High Street rivals has emerged relatively unscathed from the credit crisis having so far avoided direct Government support.

Its focus on emerging markets business allowed the group to report a year-on-year rise in third-quarter profit, although profit for the first nine-months of 2008 was still lower than in the same period of 2007.

Returning to the mortgage league tables, mform comments that Cheltenham & Gloucester, the mortgage lending arm of Lloyds TSB, has improved its performance since October’s Government bank bail out and Halifax, which will shortly be merging with Lloyds TSB is also listed in the top 10.

The full run down of mform’s league table is as follows: HSBC 89 points; Yorkshire Building Society 70; Newcastle Building Society 41; Furness 40; Nationwide 35; Co-Operative Bank 33; Halifax 30; Mansfield 30; Tipton 30; Cheltenham & Gloucester 29.