Standard Variable Rate
The normal lending rate charged by a bank or building society. It can change at the lenders discretion and generally changes more or less in line with the Bank of England Base Rate, although there are complaints that whilst lenders are quick to pass on any rate rises, lenders do not pass on full rate cuts to customers.
Some lenders link to LIBOR or Barclays base rate instead. Most mortgages are automatically transferred to a lender’s SRV after their fixed rate or discount period ends. As the SRV is often higher than fixed rate deals, most people try to fix a new mortgage deal before the end of their current deal.