The deal still requires approval from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
As the One Savings Bank and Charter Court merger gets the green light UK Finance figures reveal the combined lenders would rank 16th in the UK for gross mortgage lending based on their latest data.
The UK competition watchdog has now given its approval to the merger which was agreed by both sets of shareholders at the beginning of June.
The approval comes at the same time as UK Finance releases its annual Mortgage Lenders Data. Those figures show that Precise Mortgages achieved £2.5bn of gross mortgage lending in 2018 and ranked 17th on UK Finance's list. One Savings Bank's lending during 2018 stood at £1.1bn leaving it to rank in joint 23rd place.
Based on those figures the combined firms would have achieved a total of £3.6bn in lending during 2018.
That would have seen the pair secure 16th place and overtaking Bank of Ireland. the combined group would have been sitting just behind Leeds Building Society who achieved £3.8bn worth of lending.
Its nearest rivals would have been Principality Building Society which would have stood some way off with £1.8bn of gross lending.
chief executive of Magnet Capital, welcomed the approval and praised the strong pedigree that both lenders have in the specialist space - something he said would be good for borrowers and professionals alike.
He added: "If you look at the top lenders in the UK you will struggle to find any lender that really understands the specialist market in the UK.
"Charter Court and One Savings Bank both have strong brands that can help with mortgages across the board.
"Precise, Interbay, Prestige and Kent Reliance are all well known brands with strong, knowledgeable teams who make a difference to the borrowers they help.
"This merger, should it receive the regulatory approvals, should only be seen as a positive for the mortgage market in the UK.
"I for one am excited to see what the future brings for the combined firms."
The new combined group will be run by OSB chief executive Andy Golding with Charter Court's Malcolm Williamson acting as chairman.
OneSavings’s mortgage brands will be reporting to Alan Cleary who is currently managing director of Precise Mortgages.
Terry Pritchard, chief executive of Charter HCP, welcomed the furthering of the deal and said he hoped to see it completed soon.
He added: "Both OSB and Charter Court benefit from great leadership teams and this deal will be a terrific thing for the market.
"With the abundance of talent between the two firms and the combined mortgage brands set to report to Alan Cleary I would not be surprised if they broke into the top 15 list soon.
"Hopefully we will see this deal completed soon so borrowers can benefit from the combined brands."
The deal will see shareholders in OSB get 55% of the enlarged company following an all-share merger. Completion of the deal remains subject to outstanding conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals from the FCA and PRA.
