While a bank was the cheapest mortgage lender in 2007 for existing borrowers in Defaqto’s annual survey, building societies took two of the top five places and five of the top ten.In its survey, Defaqto found that for standard variable rate mortgages or their equivalent for existing borrowers, HSBC retained its top spot as the cheapest mortgage, closely followed by two building societies, Skipton Building Society and then Nationwide.The research was based on the amount of gross interest payable on a £50,000 interest-only mortgage provided by top lenders in 2006, as defined by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. In order to provide a level playing field for comparisons, specialist providers were not included, neither are any privilege or loyalty rates.

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