Several of Britain’s top lenders cut their variable lending rates by 25 basis points on Thursday, matching a move by the Bank of England to pass on some relief to homeowners facing a jump in mortgage costs.

LONDON, April 10 (Reuters)

HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Lloyds TSB (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and building society Nationwide said they would match the UK interest rate cut for their standard variable rates, effective from May 1 for existing customers.

Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said they were reviewing their variable rates.

A quarter percentage point cut had been expected by economists as the BoE attempts to cushion the economy from the global credit crunch – full article