The lender’s gross lending stood at £7.1bn in Q1 2016, up from £5.0bn in Q1 2015, with buy-to-let accounting for 14% of new business.
Santander’s lending was 42% higher year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016 driven by the rush of buy-to-let landlords completing cases before the 3% stamp duty surcharge came into force.
The lender’s gross lending stood at £7.1bn in Q1 2016, up from £5.0bn in Q1 2015, with buy-to-let accounting for 14% of new business.
The surge in lending led to increased pre-tax profits of £532m in the first three months of the year, up from £470m a year earlier.
A Santander spokeswoman said: ‘Today’s results demonstrate a continued appetite for borrowing, with £7.1 billion lent in Q1 of this year.
“This is slightly higher than expected and can in part be attributed to investors completing ahead of April to avoid the new stamp duty applied to second homes.
“It also reflects the rise in average loan size which has grown in line with increasing house prices.”
On a volume basis applications increased by 12% year-on-year – with Santander issuing mortgages to 5,700 first-time buyers and 5,300 buy-to-let landlords.
The spokeswoman added: ‘We anticipate house prices will continue to rise throughout 2016, but growth will be moderate compared to the pace witnessed in 2015.
“The surge in completions in March may have skewed figures and meant that Q1 has been top-loaded with lending that would have otherwise taken place throughout the year.
“There are a number of factors that could impact lending throughout 2016 and we recognise the industry as a whole may face some challenges.”
