Homeowners looking for the best deal on their mortgage may be interested in HSBC's newly reintroduced Rate Matcher loan .

The mortgage offers to match or beat any lower interest rate available elsewhere, down to 2.49 per cent, and allows borrowers to fix for five years.

Customers currently on a variable mortgage are not keen to switch to a fixed deal because rates are close to double what they already pay, according to the bank .

Available from Monday (June 8th), the mortgage lets homeowners match a fixed-rate deal with a variable one.

Martijn van der Heijden, head of mortgages at HSBC, said: With the base rate at its historic low, it's definitely a case of 'when' not 'if' mortgage rates will rise. It's in the interest of the millions of homeowners enjoying exceptionally low mortgage payments to think ahead now.

Recent figures from mortgage lender Abbey showed that interest in variable rate products is down by 50 per cent from the beginning of the year as more people prepare to fix their deals.