‘Prisoners’ to be freed

AROUND 150,000 ‘ mortgage prisoners’ will soon be allowed to swap crippling deals for cheaper loans.

The City watchdog yesterday revealed plans to loosen strict lending rules introduced after the financial crisis to allow borrowers stuck with their provider to switch to a better rate.

Customers won’t be able to borrow more and must not have missed any mortgage payments in the past year.

Banks and building societies do not have to offer mortgage prisoners a new deal, but more than 65 lenders covering 95 pc of the market have agreed to adopt the rules.

Nicky Morgan MP, chair of the Treasury Committee, says: ‘This will not be a panacea for mortgage prisoners who are in arrears, or are regarded as “risky” for other reasons.’