Four out of 10 mortgage lenders have so far failed to pass on last month's interest rate cut to their borrowers, figures showed today.

Around 40 of the UK's 104 mortgage brands have not yet announced whether they will be reducing their standard variable rate (SVR) in line with the fall in the official cost of borrowing.

The majority of lenders who have not yet made an announcement are small banks and building societies.

But a number of bigger players have also failed to pass on the reduction, including internet bank Egg, while Intelligent Finance has reduced its main SVR but not its offset one.