meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Money Box

Mortgage Rates and Banknotes

Money Box

BBC

Business

4.2825 Ratings

🗓️ 11 April 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It's been a turbulent week for the mortgage market - as lenders adjusted their rates amid fears of a rise in inflation and what that will mean for interest rates. Average mortgage rates for a 2 and 5 year fix tipped above 5% for the first time since the summer this week, and they've been climbing since. In just a few days time the Bank of England will make its next interest rate decision, but a cut which had been widely anticipated two weeks ago, is now incredibly unlikely. Around 1.8 million people are to come off a fixed mortgage this year, and have some difficult decisions to make - what should they do?

Victims' charities have criticised a long awaited and much delayed fraud strategy published earlier this week by the government. Ministers have described it as a "major upgrade to Britain's defences" with £250mn pounds to be invested over the next three years.

On Thursday a £100 cap on contactless card payments in the UK is being scrapped. The Financial Conduct Authority is giving banks the freedom to set their own limits, and in theory they could even remove the cap altogether. But it turns out many banks are not planning to change the limit at all, at least for now - why?

This week the Bank of England announced that British wildlife will replace historical figures on the next series of Bank of England banknotes. We asked Wildlife TV Presenter & Campaigner Chris Packham to tell us his ideas - from lapwings to foxes.

Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Bisi Adebayo Researcher: Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle Senior News Editor: Sara Wadeson

(First broadcast 12pm Sat 14th March 2026)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

0:07.3

Their company's success helped build a nation.

0:10.9

The company is such a big part of Korea's economy.

0:13.5

But who are the family behind one of the world's tech giants?

0:17.2

They often say, look, we built the nation.

0:19.2

And without us, South Korea as it exists today,

0:22.6

would simply not be here. Inheritance, Samsung explores the real-life dramas of the Lee family

0:28.3

and their company. They are the equivalent of royalty. Listen first on BBC Sounds. Hello, welcome to

0:35.0

this Moneybox podcast. The charity victim support criticises a new government

0:39.7

fraud strategy for failing to set a target for fraud reduction. Banks say they'll keep the

0:45.5

contactless card payment limit of £100, even though new rules mean they could raise or scrap it.

0:51.9

And what animals would Springwatch presenter Chris Packham like to see

0:55.7

on the new Bank of England notes? But first, financial waves from foreign wars continue to hit

1:02.5

our shores. On Wednesday, average mortgage rates offered by lenders increased to more than 5%

1:08.2

for both two and five-year fixed-rate deals. It's the highest since last summer,

1:12.9

when rates began to ease downwards on expectations of further cuts in bank rate. Those expectations

1:18.7

are now on hold. Just two weeks ago, a small cut was widely expected next Thursday when the Bank

1:24.6

of England makes its latest announcement, but that's now seen as very unlikely

1:28.4

on fears of rising inflation. And even the Chancellor admits prices are likely to rise as oil,

1:35.6

gas, petrol and diesel remain well above their levels of two weeks ago. Mortgage rate rises,

1:41.5

of course, a bad news for the nearly two million people who will have to remortgage this year when their fixed rate deal ends,

1:48.0

and, of course, for all those hoping to buy their first home in 2026.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.