The heroes...

HBOS, owner of Halifax, Britain's biggest lender

Market share 20.1%; gross mortgage lending in 2007 was £73.1billion.

HBOS has bowed to immense pressure and passed on the 1.5 per cent cut to its standard variable rate (SVR) for all four of its mortgage brands - Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Birmingham Midshires and Intelligent Finance. It was one of the first to pass on last month's half-point cut in full to borrowers on a variable rate. HBOS is one of the three banks accepting taxpayers cash as part of the Government's £37billion bailout of the banking industry.

Lloyds TSB, owner of Chelthenham & Gloucester and Scottish Widows

Market share: 8.1%; Gross mortgage lending in 2007: £29.5billion.

The first to pass on yesterday's 1.5per cent, Lloyds TSB is reducing its SVR by the full amount to 5 per cent from December 1. The move will cut monthly repayments by £187 on a £150,000 interest-only mortgage. Scottish Widows, part of the Lloyds TSB group, said it was cutting its SVR today by 1.5percentage points to 4.99 per cent.

Abbey

Market share: 9.8%; Gross mortgage lending in 2007: £35.6billion.

The bank owned by Spain's Santander is the UK's second biggest lender. It was the second to cut its SVR yesterday by the full 1.5 per cent, reducing it from 6.94 per cent to 5.44 per cent from December 1.

Bradford & Bingley

Market share: 3.9%; Gross mortgage lending in 2007: £14billion.

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