Lenders able to offer 'more mortgage products'

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 09:27:32 GMT

An increasing number of lenders are now able to offer more mortgage products, which will lead to the home loan market becoming more competitive as the year continues, one expert has suggested.

Ben Wilkie, editor at What Mortgage, says that the fact that there will be three or four new banks launching in the UK this year will also make the mortgage market more competitive, as there will be a greater choice of products available to would-be homeowners.

His comments come in response to recent figures from Spanish bank Santander, which show that the company increased its total mortgage lending in the UK to £7.6 billion during 2009, which is estimated to represent a market share of 69.1 per cent.

Mr Wilkie states that the larger financial institutions such as Santander and HSBC have been able to make the most of the economic downturn over the past couple of years by offering lower mortgage rates.

According to statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders, gross mortgage lending in December 2009 amounted to a total of £13.7 billion.

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