UK finance ministry to work closely with banks on mortgages - statement

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's finance ministry will work closely with the financial sector on mortgage lending, finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng told banks during a meeting on Thursday, a Treasury statement said.

"While it is the responsibility of the sector to provide the best value for mortgage rates, the Chancellor confirmed that the Treasury would continue to work closely with the sector in the weeks and months ahead," a readout of the meeting said.

Since his appointment last month, Kwarteng has hosted a series of meetings with different parts of the financial services sector. Attendees at Thursday's meeting included retail banks, building societies and challenger banks.

Kwarteng's Sept. 23 announcement of 45 billion pounds ($50.50 billion) of tax cuts and a hike in government borrowing sent markets into a tailspin and pushed borrowing costs sharply higher.

An emergency intervention by the Bank of England helped to stabilise markets, but the knock-on effects have pushed mortgage rates higher, potentially affecting many households already battling with rising costs of living.

($1 = 0.8910 pounds)

(Reporting by William James, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)