Standard Variable Rate (SVR)

An SVR mortgage or a scheme that is linked to the Society’s SVR, means that your payments can go up or down according to changes in interest rates. The Society’s SVR may also be the rate you will be charged after your initial mortgage deal period ends. This could be higher or lower than your original rate.

Unlike tracker mortgages, SVRs do not track above or below the Bank of England Base Rate at a set percentage. Instead, the rate you pay on an SVR mortgage will be determined by the Society. So, if the Bank of England Base Rate went up by 1%, the Society could choose:

• Not to increase the SVR; or
• To increase the SVR (we could choose to increase this by any amount less than 1%, 1% exactly or even make an increase greater than 1%); or
• To decrease the rate.

The Society can also increase or decrease the SVR at any time – not only after Base Rate changes.