LONDON, March 9, 2026, 22:01 GMT
NatWest Group Plc is once more bumping up mortgage rates, this time for certain current customers and those looking to increase their borrowing, according to broker notifications. The changes kick in Tuesday, just days after NatWest pushed up pricing on its new mortgages. Mortgage Introducer says the bank has confirmed rate hikes for both existing-customer and additional-borrowing products, effective March 10. Mortgage Professional
That shift is significant: UK mortgage rates had briefly dipped, but snapped back quickly. Oil powering past $100 a barrel has jolted markets, sending UK government bond yields higher and shaking up investor expectations for the Bank of England. The Bank Rate sits at 3.75%, with a policy call coming up March 19. Reuters
NatWest was quick to hike rates on new-business mortgages. According to Mortgage Solutions, as of March 6 the bank pushed up rates by up to 16 basis points—0.16 percentage point—covering a swath of product types: purchase, remortgage, first-time buyer, shared-equity, green, and buy-to-let. NatWest’s own intermediary site lists new-business rates taking effect March 7, with additional-borrowing rates rolling out March 10. Mortgage Solutions
Other lenders aren’t standing still. Barclays plans to hike certain residential purchase and remortgage rates starting March 10, while Halifax has already bumped up a wide swath of its fixed and tracker offerings. Santander is set to follow, increasing selected rates from March 11. A handful of smaller providers have gone further, pulling products off the shelf entirely. Mortgage Solutions
“NatWest now joining that group shows how quickly lender pricing can respond when funding costs move,” said Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol. According to Moneyfacts, lenders were already “beginning to change plans and reprice products” as the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate ticked up to 4.84% from 4.82% between March 4 and March 6. Over that stretch, two-year swap rates increased to 3.65% from 3.33%, and five-year swaps to 3.80% from 3.50%. Lenders use these wholesale swap rates to set pricing on fixed mortgages. Mortgage Solutions
That hits a market already showing some weakness. Mortgage approvals for house purchases in January dropped to a two-year low, the Bank of England reported last week. Yet, according to Halifax, house prices in February still came in 1.3% above where they were a year ago. Reuters
This could flip again in a hurry. Markets were betting on a 95% chance of a March rate cut, now that’s crashed to just 2.5%, according to Jonathan Raymond, investment manager at Quilter. Some see the drop as overdone—if oil prices level out, the selloff might have gone too far. David Roberts, head of fixed income at Nedgroup Investments, told Reuters a Bank of England hike looks “highly unlikely” if the shock fades soon. Mortgage Solutions
Tough timing for NatWest. Just last month, the bank reported a 24% jump in 2025 pretax profit to 7.7 billion pounds, raised its return target, and rolled out a 750 million-pound share buyback. Chief Executive Paul Thwaite called it “raising our ambition.” Reuters
Just days ago, NatWest struck a 2.7 billion pound agreement to acquire Evelyn Partners—the largest transaction for the bank since the 2008 bailout—as it ramps up efforts to grab more fee-based revenue, a space where both HSBC and Lloyds are in pursuit. RBC Capital Markets analyst Benjamin Toms described the move as “transformational,” arguing it plugs a crucial hole in NatWest’s offerings for affluent clients. Reuters
