In pursuance of its ambition to become a major player on the UK mortgage markets, the Post Office has announced further interest-rate cuts in its entire range of fixed rate mortgages. Following earlier cuts in January and February 2010, the Post Office has announced cuts in two-year, three year and five-year fixed-rate mortgages at 60 percent, 75 percent and 80 percent loan to value (LTV). There have also been cuts in the three and five-year buy to let mortgages at 75 per cent LTV as well as new three-year and five-year buy to let mortgages at 60 percent LTV.

Marco Hughes, Post Office director of personal lending, explained that the new products provide consumers with an opportunity to close their mortgage deals before a widely anticipated rise in the base rate."We believe in offering great rates not only for the initial period but across the life of the mortgage," he said.

Meanwhile, the third-largest building society in the UK, the Coventry is acquiring the Stroud and Swindon society which is deep in the red. The Stroud and Swindon society members are likely to benefit as two thirds of the savings accounts will now receive higher rates while over 25 percent of the mortgage accounts will see a reduction in interest rates. The society lost nearly six million pounds last year. The society said "The impact of an historically low bank base rate on our tracker mortgages coupled with the demand for, and the rising cost of, retail funds has led to a second year of losses for Stroud & Swindon,"

"With interest rates unlikely to rise in the near future and given the many benefits to Stroud & Swindon members of a combination with Coventry, the Board of Stroud & Swindon is unanimous in its view that this merger is in the best interests of its members."

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