According to Metro Bank, the near-prime offering will enable borrowers with an imperfect credit history to purchase a new property, or remortgage an existing one, at up to 80% LTV.
Metro Bank has recently announced that it will accept applicants with “lower than average” credit scores and those with unsatisfied county court judgements (CCJs) and defaults, with no requirement for them to be repaid before the end of the loan term.
Unsatisfied defaults of up to £1,000 will also be accepted, up from £500.
In the past few months, Metro Bank enhanced its criteria for buy-to-let lending, cut rates on their higher LTV products and added significant expertise to its team with a number of new hires.
“This all serves a purpose: to grow into the UK’s number one specialist lender,” Charles Morley, director of mortgage distribution at Metro Bank, said: “We’re continuing to make tangible progress, and we’re thrilled to offer this latest near prime offering to customers who may have been overlooked by the vast majority of the market.”
A survey of more than 6,790 adults in January Metro Bank found two in five (41%) agreed they had been prevented from getting a mortgage due to their poor credit history.
A similar proportion (43%) were worried their mortgage lender options were limited and that they would not be able to access a mortgage or remortgage their current property due to their credit history.
According to accountancy firm PwC, ‘near-prime’ customers can include those with a thin credit file, mildly adverse credit history such as having missed a small number of payments, or an incomplete credit record such as due to an inconsistent address history.
Image: Manchester, UK, by STOCKeurope24 / Adobe Stock
