More foreign banks are joining the influx of banks to provide mortgages on UK residential property. Yesterday we reported the Bank of China had entered the UK market, now we have learnt that Handelsbanken of Sweden and Leumi Bank of Israel are also now providing mortgages in the UK.
This is fantastic news for anyone seeking to buy UK property, especially for buy-to-let investors who are currently getting very poor deals from the British banks. Here are some examples of what we understand is available from the non-UK banks:
Buy-to-let 3% over base rate tracker mortgages with 25% deposit
Lower arrangement fees, typically from £995
Buy-to-let mortgages based on 100% rental cover (most UK banks require 125% cover)
Leumi bank we understand is offering a tracker mortgage at just 1.625% above 3-month LIBOR, that is a current rate of around 2.56%. This compares with the best UK bank rate of 2.95% from HSBC.
The fact that foreign banks are entering the UK market suggests that they now see it as very profitable to lend here, and maybe they see that property prices are at or nearing the bottom of the market – so for them, their loans are secure.
As to getting access to these loans you need to find an approved broker. So far we have found the following can access the Bank of China mortgages:
- Savills – 0870 900 7762
- Legal & General Mortgage Club – 01226 230504
- LargeMortgageLoansUK – 020 7519 4900
Maybe the tide has finally turned and we will soon see the big name banks on the UK high street offering mortgages at more reasonable rates.
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