Back in the day, my parents did everything with the Trustee Savings Bank (TSB), their mortgage, car loans, insurance – I remember my first TSB young savers pass book which came with a (now a collector’s item) Globe TSB Money Box. There was no internet or broker for “shopping around,” they didn’t need to, they had trust!

In 1995, TSB merged with Lloyds and they became Lloyds TSB. In 2009 Lloyds acquired HBOS, (Halifax & Bank of Scotland) and together they became “The Lloyds Banking Group,” dropping the TSB name altogether. Somewhere down the line we had the credit crunch and we all developed a loathing of banks, whom we no longer trusted.

Fast forward a few years and (although retaining a large stake), at the end of 2014, Lloyds put TSB up for sale on the Stock Exchange, as a stand alone bank. Not a bad move, the brand emerges relatively unscathed from the financial crisis.

As an Independent Mortgage Broker, I am a massive fan of new lenders joining the UK mortgage market, it keeps the other banks awake and forces competition. More competition = better deals for you and me!

TSB haven’t disappointed. They smashed into the mortgage market with an incredible 1.49% 2 year fixed rate mortgage for borrowers with a 60% deposit. If you can’t quite stretch to that, a 20% deposit will get you 2.29% fixed for 2 years!
Pretty good rates to kick off with, but as we now live in the 21st century, I would advise anyone looking for a mortgage to find themselves a good independent mortgage adviser and do all the shopping around you need!

Recent posts

Skipton Building Society launches ‘Delayed Start’ mortgage meaning first time buyers won’t be required to make repayments for the first three months. 

According to a survey by Skipton, first time buyers who bought their home in the last five years found that in the first three months of living there, they were spending upwards of £30,000.

If you have recently moved into a property with a garden that requires a little TLC, or you’d like to get on top of your current green space, check out our tips.

High street lender, NatWest, have launched a new product to help first-time buyers purchase a property with assistance from a family member or friend to get them on the property ladder sooner.

‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) schemes, such as ‘Klarna’ are short-term loans that allow shoppers to make a purchase, but delay paying for it for an agreed amount of time.

Klarna is one of the most popular BNPL services with 18 million customers in the UK alone, and offers interest-free payment options which is appealing to shoppers. However, does it affect a mortgage application?

We look at how to get the best Buy to Let mortgage rate, what's in store going forward, and options as a landlord with increasing costs.

Throughout this past week, lenders have continued to reduce their mortgage rates giving borrowers in the UK some welcome news following the change in global tariffs under US President, Donald Trump.

Did you know that buying a house, or relocating is in the top 10 most stressful life events?

Stress of course is an unavoidable part of life and there are many reasons why people experience stress, not just buying a house!

There are lots of effective ways to manage and reduce stress, check out our tips to help you.

With the stamp duty relief ending in England and Northern Ireland, we have listed the top 10 cheapest areas for first-time buyers as published by Rightmove.