HSBC suddenly pulls mortgage deals without warning

The bank announced that it would withdraw all its "new business" residential and buy-to-let products on Thursday, but deals will be available again on Monday.

Mortgage rates have been increasing over recent weeks after new data showed that inflation was not coming down as quickly as expected.

HSBC's new measure comes after rival lender Nationwide said it needed to increase its fixed rates to ensure they remain "sustainable".

The Bank of England is expected to raise rates higher than previously thought, from their current 4.5 per cent to as high as 5.5 per cent - prompted many lenders to raise mortgage rates and scrap deals.

On Thursday, HSBC said that it was withdrawing new deals "to ensure that we can stay within our operational capacity and meet our customer service commitments".

It is likely that HSBC will increase their mortgage rates on Monday.

However, products and rates for existing customers are still available.

Several mortgage providers have hiked rates on deals over the past week, according to financial data firm Moneyfacts.

On Thursday, the average two-year-fixed-rate mortgage rate on the market was 5.82 per cent, up from 5.49 per cent at the start of June.

While the average five-year deal was 5.49 per cent, up from 5.17 per cent since the start of the month.

Broker Katy Eatenton, from Lifetime Wealth, said HSBC had warned they might withdraw products earlier than planned, but many brokers she knew could not get on the bank's website all afternoon - so were unable to submit any new applications.

"This is becoming a more regular occurrence with lenders and is so hard to navigate giving clients good advice and time to consider products with such tight deadlines," she told the BBC.

Riz Malik, founder and director at R3 Mortgages in Southend-on-Sea, said the move "really underscored the turbulent times we're currently facing in the mortgage market".