Bank closes door on new mortgages

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

The internet and telephone bank said it was temporarily withdrawing mortgages after receiving five times the usual volume of applications in recent weeks.

At the same time, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland and Kent Reliance Building Society became the first lenders this year to raise their variable mortgage rates for existing customers.

First Direct chief executive Chris Pilling said: "The flood of interest in our mortgages has meant we're taking longer than we'd like to handle applications, especially from non-customers.

"Rather than increase interest rates dramatically to discourage new applications, we've decided to withdraw temporarily from offering mortgages to non-customers until we've cleared the backlog."

The group will continue to offer mortgages to existing customers, even if they do not currently have their home loan with it.

First Direct, which is part of the HSBC group, has 1.2 million customers and employs 3,400 people.

Meanwhile, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, which are part of the same group, announced they were increasing the rate on their variable rate offset mortgage from 6.2% to 6.45%.

Kent Reliance Building Society also raised its standard variable rate for both new and existing customers by 0.25% to 7.59%, while Standard Life Bank announced that it was increasing its mortgage rates for new borrowers for the second time in two weeks.