HSBC offers its cheapest mortgage to the rich

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L)(0005.HK), Europe's largest bank, on Wednesday unveiled its cheapest ever home loan, but said it would be offered only to wealthy borrowers.

To qualify for the loan, a two-year mortgage with a rate of just 2.99 percent, borrowers must either have savings of 50,000 pounds ($72,790) with HSBC, or want a mortgage of at least 250,000 pounds and have a salary of 75,000 pounds or more.

The new loan becomes available on February 6, when HSBC is due to reduce its standard variable mortgage rate to 3.94 percent as it passes on the Bank of England's most recent 0.5 percentage point cut in interest rates.

Separately, state-owned mortgage bank Northern Rock on Wednesday said it was passing on just half of the central bank's rate cut, reducing its standard variable rate by 0.25 percentage points to 5.09 percent. Tracker mortgage rates will be cut by the full 0.5 percentage point, Northern Rock said.

The BoE cut interest rates to a record low 1.5 percent on January 8.

(Reporting by Myles Neligan; Editing by Erica Billingham)