The new mortgage is available to new and existing customers for both house purchases and re-mortgages. There is a £599 booking fee and £299 arrangement fee with a maximum loan to value of 75%.
More than 10% of the bank's customers now have an offset mortgage with first direct, choosing to make use of the financial benefits of linking day-to-day savings to their current account balances and mortgage. Customers would need to receive an interest rate equivalent to 3.80% AER on their savings account for a 20% taxpayer and 5.10% for a 40% taxpayer for them to achieve the same benefit as offsetting any credit balances they have against their mortgage.
Jimmy Kelly, first direct's Mortgage Manager commented, 'This product is a market leader and we think it will be very popular particularly as our customers are extremely savvy when it comes to knowing how to make the most of their money. More and more are understanding the huge benefits of offsetting their mortgage.'
