There could be signs that some mortgage lenders are feeling the effects of the global credit crunch.

Standard Life, (one of the UK's top 20 mortgage lenders), has unexpectedly increased its standard variable rate by 0.15%.

So if you are Standard Life borrower, you now face an SVR of between 7.46% and 7.66% depending on the loan to value of your mortgage.

This marks the first time that so-called prime borrowers have felt the consequences of the global credit freeze and analysts have warned that other lenders could follow suit.

A big change?

This move by Standard Life will affect you if your mortgage is linked directly to the SVR.

Until recently such deals represented a large part of Standard Life's business. However, today the majority of its current mortgage deals are linked to a tracker product instead of the SVR.

A tracker mortgage automatically follows the Bank of England base rate, and as a result cannot be raised unless the central bank also puts its rates up first. Standard Life has no discounted rate residential mortgages, however the increase will still affect existing borrowers who have reverted to a SVR once their fixed rate deal has elapsed.

There may also be shock for you if you have secured a fixed rate mortgage with Standard Life, but added the original fee to the loan.

This is because when Standard Life adds fees to a mortgage, the fees are charged at the SVR rather than the pay rate. As a result, even if you are a fixed rate borrower, you will see a rise in your monthly repayments as a consequence of this change.

A Standard Life spokesman said:

"The change in SVR is a consequence of significant changes to the mortgage market in recent months"

Possible rate cut?

A number of so called "sub-prime" lenders, which focus on people with poor or non-existent credit histories, have already increased their standard rates in recent months, but Standard Life is the first mainstream lender to make the move.

Julia Harris of the comparison site Moneyfacts believes all borrowers should now be on their guard:

"It is very rare to see a lender increase its standard variable rate outside a base rate change. It could very well be the first sign that the mainstream 'prime' mortgage (market) is feeling the pinch of the credit crisis."

Ray Boulger from mortgage brokers John Charcol says all lenders are feeling the effects of a global credit squeeze, where problems in the US are making lenders more cautious with their cash.

Mr Boulger agreed that while some lenders may now follow Standard Life, many others would simply wait for the Bank of England's interest rates to fall and not pass on all of the cut to consumers.

But will that be the case or will we see more lenders hiking their rates in the coming days due to the credit crunch?

What do you think?

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