Pepper Money says it has lifted rates across a number of products in its affordable housing, residential and buy-to-let ranges in response to rising swap rates.

The specialist lender has increased rates across its residential fixed-rate mortgages by an average of 64 basis points.

The move comes after the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted by a majority of 6-3 to increase the bank rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 1.25%. The increase marks the fifth base rate rise since December 2021 after a decade of historic lows.

A selection of Pepper Money’s rate rises includes:

* Its two-year residential 85% LTV Pepper 36 Light offer rises by 25 basis points to 5.45%

* Its two-year residential 80% LTV Pepper 6 loan rises by 15bps to 6.15%

* The firm’s five-year Help to Buy/Shared Ownership 75% LTV Pepper 48 offer lifts by 50bps to 4.85%

* Its five-year BTL 80% LTV Pepper 60 is 20bps higher at 4.93%

Brokers who have an existing decision in principle on Pepper Money’s old range have seven days to submit a full mortgage application in order to secure the rate.

Pepper Money sales director Paul Adams says: “It’s no secret that rates are increasing across the market, and may continue to rise. In this environment, it’s important that customers are able to apply for and secure existing rates quickly, before they increase in line with expectations.

“So now, perhaps more than ever before, service and turnaround are key considerations for brokers in choosing a lender. At Pepper Money, we aim to assess all documents and complete an underwriting assessment within 24 hours. This means we are able to provide certainty quickly.

“With this approach, we are able to continue to provide competitive solutions for customers whose circumstances leave them overlooked by high street lenders and can be let down by the slow turnaround times that are currently impacting some specialist lenders.”