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Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the implications of the latest conflict for "oil prices, equity prices... trading and inflation and therefore interest rates and the general state of the world economy" were very important.

Private loans, moreover, lack some of the consumer protections traditionally provided by government loans, including deferrals, and typically carry higher interest rates.

It means the price of the energy they produce is very closely tied to the cost of building and, because developers borrow most of the money, that means the interest rates they are charged.

The FCA said this provided an incentive for a buyer to be charged a higher-than-necessary interest rate, leaving them paying too much.

"Even as interest rates have come down, this measure of affordability has not eased significantly, with rising house prices largely offsetting any lowering of payments through falling rates," its review of household finances said.