Moneyfacts Awards has announced the 2009 award winners

Yorkshire Building Society has been named the Best Long Term Fixed Rate Mortgage Provider in the 2009 Moneyfacts Awards, whose winners were announced at a ceremony in London on June 12th.

The lender beat rivals in the category including West Bromwich Building Society and HSBC, which received a Highly Commended and Commended accolade from the independent personal finance information provider, which also supplies the media with best buy tables.

Welcoming the accolade, Chris Edwards, the head of mortgages and savings at Yorkshire Building Society said the independent recognition has arrived at a "crucial time when fixed rate mortgages are seeing a resurgence in popularity".

HSBC added to the above award the Best Remortgage Provider accolade, as well as the Best First Time Buyer Mortgage Provider, which have been welcomed by head of mortgages Martijin van der Heijden.

The awards are "a huge achievement and demonstrate how far we have come as a mortgage lender in a very short period," he stated, adding that they "recognise HSBC and First Direct as the leading mortgage providers for innovation, service and value".

While Skipton Building Society was named the Best Short Term Fixed Rate Mortgage Provider, First Direct walked away with the Best Variable Rate Mortgage Provider and the Best Current Account and Offset Mortgage Provider.

Also successful was Halifax, which was named the Best Tracker Rate Mortgage Provider, Nationwide Building Society as the Best Building Society Mortgage Provider and Abbey, which secured the Best Online Mortgage Provider as well as the Best Service from a Mortgage Provider award.

Commenting on the awards, Lee Tillcock, the editor of Moneyfacts, said they are designed to recognise and reward "outstanding service levels and product quality in the personal finance sector".

"In a challenging year, the ceremony remains the pinnacle of the year's product advocacy," he said, adding that the level of commitment shown and feedback from service providers and brokers was "impressive".

"2009 has seen unprecedented developments including the addition of new categories, such as innovation, recognition for the individual bank and building society sectors, and for the first time an award for the overall personal finance provider of the year," he said.

The Personal Finance Provider of the Year was won by Halifax, which beat rivals Abbey, which was Highly Commended, and HSBC, which walked away with a Commendation.

Meanwhile, consumer website moneysupermarket.com has stated that first-time buyers still face an uphill task because the number of 90 per cent loan to value (LTV) mortgages has fallen by 97 per cent since January 2007.

LTVs have declined from 3,148 two and a half years ago to just 102 mortgage products at the moment, which are only available at 90 per cent LTV, the website stated.