The regulator has published its interim report into the mortgage market, which highlighted that competition in the sector was working well for many people.

It has also identified ways to improve the market for consumers, including making it easier for consumers to assess the strengths of different mortgage brokers.

Christopher Woolard, director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said: “The mortgage market is one of the largest financial markets in the UK and there have been significant changes to the market since the financial crisis in order to ensure that we do not return to the poor practices of the past.

“For many, the market is working well with high levels of consumer engagement.

“However, we believe that things could work better with more innovative tools to help consumers.

“There are also a number of longstanding borrowers that have kept up to date with their mortgage repayments but are unable to get a new mortgage deal; we want to explore ways that we, and the industry, can help them.”

The report also found that around 30% of mortgage customers fail to find the cheapest product for themselves and a number of longstanding customers were unable to switch to a better rate.

The FCA has suggested that a solution to this issue could be an industry-wide agreement to approve new mortgage applications from existing customers whose most recent mortgage was taken out before the financial crisis and who are up to date with payments.