HSBC and Co-op Bank cut mortgage rates as Halifax and Lloyds ease rules

Moneyfacts, the financial data provider, said the number of deals where people were able to put down a deposit of just 5% or 10% had risen to its highest level since March 2008 Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

UK lenders are stepping up a mortgage price war, with HSBC and the Co-operative Bank announcing fresh rate cuts, and Halifax and Lloyds Bank loosening their affordability rules to enable homebuyers to borrow more.

The number of low-deposit mortgages that let buyers borrow up to 95% of a property’s value has hit a 17-year high.