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

The chancellor will deliver her second budget this autumn. Due to slow economic growth and high inflation, the government need to manage a £40 billion shortfall in public finances. There have already been reports about changes to taxes including income tax and capital gains tax.

The chancellor has advised that landlords could have another tax to pay this autumn as the Treasury decide whether to extend national insurance contributions to rental income. 

According to a report in the Guardian, senior ministers have asked Treasury officials to look into a “proportional” property tax to see how it would work as an alternative to the existing stamp duty land tax on owner-occupied homes. 

More than a quarter of UK adults in long-term relationships (26%) have reported that despite living together, they keep their finances separate from one another.

There has been a rise in both rent and mortgage costs over the last three years, with renters seeing a greater increase in their monthly payments than those with a mortgaged property.

The new Delayed Start Mortgage launched by Skipton Building Society allows first time buyers to postpone the first three mortgage payments. This product has been designed to help soften the blow of moving in costs for first time buyers. 

Mortgage lenders are starting to recognise their “Green” responsibilities when it comes to the different products they offer. 

A recent study by Boon Brokers where 1,000 people who had used an estate agent over the last year were surveyed, showed that a whopping 52% said they were pressured into using the estate agents’ in-house mortgage broker.