The Bank of Butterfield hit back at claims the Bank of Bermuda is now offering the lowest mortgage rates on the Island yesterday, saying many of their customers already have mortgage rates of 6.5 percent and lower.

The Bank of Bermuda, now part of the HSBC group, made headlines this week with the announcement that it is slashing personal loan rates by 0.50 percent, bringing its varying rates to as low as 6.5 percent ? rates they claimed were the lowest on the Island.

The Bank of Bermuda will also waive all service fees for the next three months and provide a 48-hour loan approval service.

According to a statement released by the Bank of Butterfield however, that institution, which offers mortgages on a case-by-case basis, can also have mortgage interest rates of 6.5 percent ? or lower.

And the Bank of Butterfield is happy that option is now being offered in other places. ?We are pleased to see other financial institutions in Bermuda now offering products to the local market similar to the highly competitive and innovative residential mortgage lending services already offered by the Bank of Butterfield to Bermudians,? executive vice president Richard Ferrett said yesterday.

?Not only were we the first bank in Bermuda to offer 95 percent residential mortgages,? he continued, ?many of our customers already enjoy mortgages with Bank of Butterfield at interest rates of 6.5 percent and lower.?

The Bank of Bermuda remained confident in their announcement, however. ?Our offering of a 0.50% interest rate reduction for all personal loans, including mortgages, positions the Bank?s personal loan interest rates as the lowest offered in the market,? Bank of Bermuda CEO Philip Butterfield said yesterday. ?This rate reduction offering will significantly benefit Bermuda consumers.?

Nevertheless, the Bank of Butterfield remained committed to providing ?an efficient, competitive and flexible mortgage service so that the Bermudian public may own their ?piece of the rock?,? Mr. Ferrett said. ?We have long believed that customer education is an essential service to the public and over the past two years we have held numerous educational seminars on a range of banking services, including mortgage financing.

?We have a dedicated team of mortgage officers located on the first floor at 65 Front Street, who can be contacted on our mortgage hotline at 298-4799.?