First Direct back in mortgage market
Monday, 19 May 2008 16:43
Mortgage lender First Direct has announced it is to return to the market, following a hiatus.
From today the company will resume lending to non-customers, following a decision to withdraw from the market on April 1st.
At the time the organisation claimed it was receiving five times the normal level of application for its products, suggesting it needed to take "drastic" action to avoid a crisis.
The bank claimed the restriction of lending to existing customers was necessary to restore service to the standard expected from the bank, while continuing to meet the mortgage needs of customers.
However, the backlog of pending applications has now been cleared, allowing the bank – owned by HSBC – to return to the market.
"Last month we took the bold decision to withdraw from mortgage sales to non-customers to allow us to process the huge number of enquiries we had received and focus on the excellent service we want to provide for our customers," said First Direct chief executive Chris Pilling.
"We've now assessed all the loan applications outstanding from April 1st and earlier and let everyone know the outcome. We've honoured the fixed-interest rates available when people first contacted us about their mortgage."
From today the bank will offer the following deals:
- Two-year fixed-rate at 5.76 per cent (6.3 per cent APR); £499 booking fee and £1,499 arrangement fee.
- Two-year fixed-rate at 5.99 per cent (6.2 per cent APR); £99 booking fee and £399 arrangement fee.
- Five-year fixed-rate at 5.98 per cent (6.2 per cent APR); £299 booking fee and £299 arrangement fee.
- Ten-year fixed rate at 5.99 per cent (6.2 per cent APR); £299 booking fee and £299 arrangement fee.
"I'd like to thank customers for their patience during recent weeks and also to pay tribute to our team at first direct who have burned the midnight oil to complete a year's worth of mortgages in just three months," concluded Mr Pilling.
Chris O'Toole