Mortgage Strategy’s Top 10 Stories: 12 Oct to 16 Oct

This week’s top headlines: Halifax updates intermediary site to make apps easier and NatWest becomes latest lender to cuts rates.

Explore these and other major industry updates below:

Halifax updates intermediary site to make apps easier

Halifax Intermediaries has upgraded its online mortgage application platform, introducing drag-and-drop document uploads, multiple-file uploading and fewer data fields for self-employed applications to save brokers time. The changes follow broker feedback and precede the lender’s planned rebrand to Lloyds Intermediaries in early 2027, with no action required from brokers and existing login details remaining unchanged.

MIT Live: Brokers’ use of ChatGPT ‘colossal disaster waiting to happen’

Mortgage technology leaders have warned that brokers using free AI tools such as ChatGPT without compliance approval risk exposing clients’ data to serious cybersecurity threats. Instamo founder Freddie Savundra and Mortgage Advice Bureau’s Renee Hunt urged firms to use approved systems and actively monitor AI tools to ensure they remain secure and compliant.

NatWest becomes latest lender to cuts rates

NatWest is cutting rates across its new business, existing customer, additional borrowing and buy-to-let ranges, including a two-year buy-to-let purchase fix at 75% LTV reduced by 43bps to 4.16%. The move comes despite higher funding costs, as lenders compete for business ahead of the end of the year and growing remortgage demand, with brokers suggesting further rate cuts could follow.

MIT Live: Interim Mortgage Rule Review here by Christmas, says FCA

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will publish the interim Mortgage Rule Review (MRR) report before Christmas, later than its original Q2 2026 target. The review aims to simplify the homebuying and mortgage process while promoting a more efficient and competitive market, with the FCA also preparing an updated survey with the Bank of England on AI in financial services.

Londoners turn to AI for financial advice but remain least confident, Lloyds finds

Lloyds Banking Group research found that 49% of Londoners use AI for personal finance daily or weekly, while 76% have used it for financial purposes in the past year, despite having the UK’s lowest confidence in digital financial tools. Londoners reported average savings of £562 after following AI-powered recommendations, compared with £399 nationally, highlighting the potential for digital tools to help households manage money and save towards a home deposit, although concerns remain around trust and confidence.

HSBC lowers rates across resi and BTL

HSBC will cut rates across its residential and buy-to-let mortgage ranges, including deals at 60% to 90% LTV, potentially bringing some fixed rates below 5%. The reductions come as borrowers prepare to refinance this autumn, with brokers noting that HSBC’s move could prompt competitors to follow despite recent increases in swap rates.

LendWell lands SPF Private Clients deal

AI mortgage technology firm LendWell has signed a multi-year agreement with SPF Private Clients to integrate AI across its mortgage and protection processes. The platform will use case information and supporting evidence to help prepare documentation, manage follow-ups and progress applications, reducing administrative work while leaving professional judgement with advisers.

PRA and FCA to relax high-LTI lending rules this month

The PRA and FCA will remove the individual 15% cap on high loan-to-income mortgage lending from 28 October 2026, allowing lenders greater flexibility to offer loans exceeding 4.5 times a borrower’s income, provided the overall market limit remains in place. The reforms aim to improve competition and access to mortgages, particularly for creditworthy first-time buyers, with individual lenders’ lending assessed over a rolling four-quarter period to reduce volatility.

Fixed rate prices rise again despite major lender cuts: Moneyfacts

Average UK mortgage rates have edged higher, with two-year fixes rising to 5.97% and five-year fixes to 5.99%, according to Moneyfacts, despite rate cuts from lenders including Santander, Yorkshire Building Society and Halifax. Pricing remains mixed as lenders continue to adjust rates and withdraw or launch products, with fluctuating swap rates making it unclear whether fixed mortgage rates have peaked.

LHV Bank appoints Damian Thompson as CEO

LHV Bank has appointed Damian Thompson as CEO and executive director, with him due to join on 4 January 2027, subject to regulatory approval. Bringing more than 30 years of financial services experience, including senior roles at NatWest Markets, Starling Bank and Fleet Mortgages, he will lead the digital-first bank’s next phase of growth, with a focus on expanding lending to SMEs.