Abbey rejigs service and business booms

Loans up to £500,000 (75% LTV) and £350,000 (90% LTV) will now be locally underwritten by an Abbey National BDU. Any loans that fall outside this criteria will be managed by a new large loan team based in Milton Keynes with a dedicated telephone number 0870 6000 679. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm.

In addition, a new set of service standards were mailed to over 21,000 Intermediaries, promising that for loans over £250,000:

ß Intermediaries who submit an Agreement In Principle (AIP) via Abbey National’s Introducer website that is referred, will receive a phone call to confirm receipt of their application and to request any additional information, if required. An Agreement In Principle will then be received within one hour.

ß For applications submitted by post, Intermediaries will receive a phone call from their local BDU to confirm receipt.

ß For large loan applications that have been referred to one of the large loan teams, Intermediaries will receive a fully underwritten decision within 24 hours following receipt of their client’s full application.

ß On confirmation of acceptance of their client’s case Abbey National will aim to provide an offer within 10 working days.

At the same time Abbey National has also launched a new range of mortgage products for loans up to and over £1 million, including a new range of fixed rates for intermediaries with large loan clients. This range includes a two-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.19% (90% LTV) and a five-year fixed rate at 4.49% (90% LTV), both with a £299 booking fee. The remainder of Abbey National’s mortgage range (excluding their on-line exclusive) continues to be available for loans up to £1 million.

Jan Errington, Group Marketing Manager at Abbey National for Intermediaries, said:

“The large mortgage loan market in the UK is a growing one which presents considerable opportunities for intermediaries. We have recognised this and are delighted that, in the first week alone, intermediaries have shown that they agree with the improvements we have made to our service and our product range by driving new business volumes up by almost a third.