Experts said the new mortgage charter agreed by major lenders is a positive move.

Extra help has been announced for struggling mortgage borrowers, following a meeting between Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and banks.

Savings rates should be put up at least with the same rate as borrowing, Martin Lewis told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

Taking all 13 base rate rises into account, the average monthly tracker mortgage payment will have increased by £464.79, according to UK Finance.

The Bank has pushed the base rate up to 5%, the highest it has been in nearly 15 years.

The Bank of England base rate now stands at 5% after a 0.5 percentage point hike on Thursday.

Plugging the ‘holes in our tax system’ could help refill public coffers, a tax and financial planning expert said.

Two-fifths of mortgage holders are showing at least one sign of financial difficulty, according to a YouGov survey for StepChange.

Further monetary tightening risks deepening the financial pain for people and businesses, according to some commentators.

The average UK house price was £286,000 in April 2023, which is £9,000 higher than 12 months earlier, the Office for National Statistics said.

Customers can securely shred expired or unused payment cards in specialist machines at selected branches.

Lenders urged those who are worried about their payments to get in touch.

Jeremy Hunt told the House of Commons he would be asking what flexibilities might be possible.

The Premium Bonds prize fund rate will reach a 15-year high from the July prize draw, increasing to 3.70% from 3.30%.

Mr Lewis said he had given his views at a mortgage summit held by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last year.

The one-off payments are being issued by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The launch comes as the bank said its existing 123, Select, and Private current accounts are being removed from sale.

The bank said it was removing some mortgages from sale as of 4pm on Monday.

Calls for intervention were made as the average two-year fixed-rate mortgage deal topped 6% for the first time this year.

The stock of outstanding interest-only mortgages fell by 8% in 2022, compared with the end of 2021, UK Finance said.