Darlington Building Society has reduced rates across its residential foreign currency mortgage range by up to 0.30%.
The changes apply across selected two-year and five-year fixed rate products and follow the Society’s recent decision to increase the maximum LTV on its foreign currency range to 90%.
80% LTV fixed rates have reduced by 20bps, with both two and five-year fixes reducing to 5.39%.
90% LTV rates are down by 30bps, now available at 5.79%.
Darlington’s foreign currency proposition is designed for borrowers whose income is paid in an overseas currency and can support a range of scenarios, including expats returning to the UK, foreign nationals purchasing property, and clients whose circumstances may sit outside more mainstream criteria. The Society accepts 16 major currencies and takes a manual underwriting approach to complex cases.
Chris Blewitt, head of mortgage distribution at Darlington Building Society, said: “Foreign currency cases tend to be the sort of transactions where there is rarely a straightforward route from enquiry through to completion. Clients may have overseas income, multiple jurisdictions involved, or circumstances that sit outside standard systems and policy rules.
“What brokers often tell us is that these are not difficult clients, they are simply clients that need more thought around how a case is assessed. Pricing is important, but so does knowing there is someone willing to look beyond a standard checklist and understand the wider story behind an application.
“We have seen steady demand in this area and, while rates are only one part of the conversation, improving pricing gives brokers another option when they are trying to place cases that can sometimes have a limited number of homes.”