Santander is reducing the interest rates on select higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages and is re-launching a ten year fixed offer.
The bank is also introducing new products for buy-to-let landlords.
The rate cuts at higher LTVs are clearly targeted towards first-time buyers (FTBs), for whom the biggest hurdle to jump over when looking to take down a mortgage are the high upfront costs.
Miguel Sard, head of mortgages at Santander, commented: “For people looking to move or buy for the first time, they are still facing some high upfront costs. Which is why we’ve reduced our rates and maintained the zero booking fees on selected high LTV products, helping customers make their deposits go as far as possible.”
The bank expects that the new offers would be appealing also to remortgage customers who often are wary of switching providers due to costs, Sard added.
The new reduced rates include:
— At 80 per cent LTV: Five-year fix at 3.19 per cent (3.09 per cent for Loyalty range customers) with £0 booking fee, for purchase and remortgage
— At 85 per cent LTV: Five-year fix at 3.79 per cent (3.69 per cent for Loyalty range customers) with £0 booking fee, for purchase and remortgage
— At 90 per cent LTV: Five-year fix at 4.29 per cent (4.19 per cent for Loyalty range customers) with £0 booking fee, for purchase only
Santander has rebooted a ten-year fixed mortgage at 3.24 per cent and a 70 per cent LTV, with a £995 booking fee (£495 for Loyalty range customers), available for purchase and remortgage.
For buy-to-let landlords, the bank has launched a new 3.09 per cent two-year fix at 60 per cent LTV and a 3.64 per cent mortgage fixed for two years at 75 per cent LTV, with £0 booking fee and available for purchase and remortgage.
For clients, buying taking out higher-end loans of £250,000 and above, there also is a new product — a two-year mortgage fixed at 2.09 per cent, with a £1495 booking fee, available for purchase and remortgage.