Nationwide mortgage challenge set to beat competition

Nationwide has set a "can't be beaten" mortgage challenge to its biggest competitors, including HSBC, Natwest and Northern Rock.

This latest step in the mortgage price war has seen Nationwide claim that for anyone looking to remortgage, if Nationwide can't match or lower the monthly repayments from the seven named lenders, then it will pay out £150.

This applies to both fixed or tracker rate mortgages.

Stuart Bernau, executive director at Nationwide, said: "In a mortgage price war, the winners are those who look for a competitive rate with low fees and charges and a lender who treats them fairly at the end of the deal."

He went on to name the losers as those who continue to pay too much as a result of being lazy and not shopping around for cheaper standard variable rates (SVR's).

Mr Bernau concluded: "With savings of up to £1,500 a year to be made on a £100,000 mortgage, we're confident our new mortgage challenge will lead many people to look at their mortgage and do something about it."