Message from Santander for Intermediaries
From Monday 23 November we’re making some important changes to our residential lending criteria.
Interest only mortgages
All new residential applications where any part of the loan is on interest only will now need a minimum gross income:
- Single applicants: minimum gross income of £50,000.
- Joint applicants: combined minimum gross income of £70,000.
Gross income can be made up of a combination of primary and secondary incomes.
The new criteria does not apply to existing Santander mortgage customers moving home if their total borrowing is the same or less and their interest only amount stays the same.
Maximum income multiples
We’re changing the maximum income multiple (also known as loan to income ratio) from 4.49x to 4.45x for:
- all first time buyer applications regardless of LTV; and
- all clients borrowing over 90% LTV.
This change reflects our continued prudent approach to lending and affordability and is in line with current market conditions.
All mortgage applications are assessed on affordability using the affordability calculator, and are subject to additional policy including maximum income multiples.
You should use our affordability calculator on all applications to ensure your clients get an accurate indication of how much we may be able to lend them.
What are the pipeline rules for this change?
All full mortgage applications (FMAs) already submitted through Introducer Internet by 9pm on Saturday 21 November will not be affected and will continue to be progressed on our existing criteria.
Any cases submitted as an FMA from Monday 23 November, or where a material change is made to an FMA submitted before 23 November, will be assessed using our new lending criteria.
Further help and information
Our affordability calculator and lending criteria will be updated on our website on 23 November. If you have any questions please speak to your dedicated contact.
