Who this is for: Anyone choosing or renewing a fixed-rate mortgage who wants to understand one of the factors behind the price.
Swap rates are market rates used by financial institutions to manage the interest-rate risk associated with lending for set periods. They are one of the factors lenders consider when pricing a two-year or five-year fixed mortgage, alongside funding costs, risk, operating costs and commercial decisions.
In the month to 3 September 2026, the two-year swap rate rose from 4.06% to 4.26% and the five-year rate from 4.16% to 4.36%, based on Chatham Financial data reported by Mortgage Solutions. Fixed mortgage pricing can follow this sort of movement, but not every lender will change at the same time or by the same amount.
Bank Rate directly affects tracker mortgages where the product is linked to it. Fixed mortgage rates are also influenced by what markets expect to happen over the fixed period, which is one reason fixed deals can move before or after a Bank Rate decision.
For a borrower, the practical point is that an eligible customer of a Mortgage Charter signatory can lock in a new deal up to six months before a fixed rate ends and request a better like-for-like deal until the new one starts, if one is available. It is worth checking the lender's own terms and timing.
