The lender says its changes affect two-, three- and five-year first-time buyer, home mover and remortgage fixes at up to 75% loan to value.  

Highlights include:  

• Two-year FTB fixes at up to 60 LTV start at 4.89%, with a £999 fee  
• Three-year home mover fixes at up to 60 LTV start at 4.74%, with a £999 fee  
• Five-year remortgage fixes at up to 60 LTV start at 4.59%, with a £999 fee  

The move by the lender comes a day after The Bank of England left UK interest rates on hold at 5.25% for the sixth time in a row — but governor Andrew Bailey said he is “optimistic that things are moving in the right direction”.     

This leaves the mortgage industry hoping for a cut from the base rate’s 16-year high this summer rather than the autumn, as the central bank improved its inflation forecast.    

The Bank’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee said inflation is expected to return “to around the 2% target” throughout the second quarter, but to increase slightly in the second half of the year to around 2.5%, “owing to the unwinding of energy-related base effects”.       

The BoE’s Bailey added: “We’ve had encouraging news on inflation and we think it will fall close to our 2% target in the next couple of months.     

“We need to see more evidence that inflation will stay low before we can cut interest rates. I’m optimistic that things are moving in the right direction.”