Barclays Bank has signed £80m of hedging deals with housing associations in one day.
The deals are with housing associations Circle 33 and Acton.

Hedging deals allow the associations to fix the interest rate on a loan for a set number of years, increasing the predictability of interest payments.

David Cassidy, relationship director at Barclays, said the bank expected to see a wave of hedging deals in the next few months as finance directors take advantage of low interest rates.

Circle 33’s deal enables it to swap from a variable interest rate to a rate of 5.36% fixed for 25 years. The hedging, on £20m of loans, starts in five years’ time. Nathan Dunton, group treasury manager, said: “This maintains a level of certainty in interest payable.”

Acton is hedging about £60m of debt at a rate of 5%. The deal starts next year and will last 10 years.