<p>Industry has largely welcomed the Bank of England’s launch today of a scheme allowing banks to temporarily swap their mortgage backed securities for government bonds, a measure revealed to be in the pipeline on April 18.</p> <br><p>“The Bank of England is to be applauded for taking action,” commented Stewart Baseley, HBF’s chairman. “At a time of market uncertainty, measures such as this are extremely welcome for home buyers.”</p> <br><p>But Baseley cautioned that the real test for borrowers would be whether the move would deliver better access to loans and lower interest rates: “Only this will restore confidence in the market.”</p> <br><p>Steve Cox, operations director of Spicerhaart Financial Services, said that the move would raise liquidity and help bolster confidence in the financial markets. “However, the scheme does not include smaller building societies and specialist lenders, and we will need to see how the changes affect the current pricing of mortgage products, which is more influenced by Libor.”</p> <br><p>But Cox added that any positive move towards improving liquidity should be embraced.<br> <br></p>