Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-01-07.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of an interest rate rise on customers whose mortgages are held by UKAR; and what support is available to assist such customers to switch providers.

Andrea Leadsom

This Government’s long term economic plan has kept interest rates at record lows for hardworking people across the country.

Many lenders impose affordability stress tests on their mortgage lending decisions to ensure that the mortgage will remain affordable should interest rates rise. The Financial Conduct Authority’s Mortgage Market Review rules, which came into force in April this year will require all mortgage lenders to conduct such a stress test.

Although UKAR does not engage in new lending, UKAR runs a range of modelling scenarios to understand the potential effects of interest rate rises on customers. This work helps UKAR to identify customers who may be susceptible to higher interest rates and to engage with such customers at an early stage.

UKAR assists all customers who wish to switch mortgage providers.

NRAM and Bradford and Bingley are managed by UK Asset Resolution Limited (UKAR) which was established in 2010 to manage the disposal and rundown of outstanding assets at Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock Asset Management in an integrated way, with a view to creating value for the taxpayer. UKAR is managed at arm’s length from Government, on commercial principles.

It is therefore not for the Chancellor to discuss detailed commercial matters with UKAR.