Spanish rebrand of Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branches ushers in new phase of mortgage competition
One of the first things Santander has done on introducing its name to the UK High Street is to introduce competitive two-year fixed rate mortgage deals.
As the first of 1,000 Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branch shopfronts puts up the new Santander sign, mortgage borrowers with 90 per cent loan to value will be able to walk in and request a two-year tracker with a £995 fee that charges only 4.99%.
That’s around 0.2% cheaper than the nearest competitors for that type of mortgage.
Meanwhile, Santander’s 2-year fixed rate for borrowers with 75 per cent loan to value stands at 4.39%. This is slightly more than the market average of 2-year fixed rates for those type of borrowers, which has recently fallen to 4.06%. However, the Santander deal has no arrangement fee, making it a winner for some borrowers — particularly those with lower mortgage balances.
The might of the Spanish banking group has been focused on one thing: efficiency. From the outset, this certainly seems to be driving competitiveness. Will the government-supported big UK bank conglomerates be able to achieve enough similar efficiencies to compete?
