Move comes amid renewed speculation over lender's long-term UK market plans
Santander UK has lowered its residential affordability rates following the Bank of England’s base rate reduction earlier this month.
The move, aimed at boosting borrowing capacity for customers, includes a 0.25% cut to affordability rates and updated household expenditure data.
Brokers can now use Santander’s affordability calculator to assess how these changes impact their clients’ borrowing potential.
The announcement comes after Santander became the first high-street lender to introduce a sub-4% mortgage product this year. The bank has launched four new offerings, featuring two- and five-year fixed residential purchase and remortgage deals at 3.99% for up to 60% loan-to-value (LTV).
These product updates align with the lender’s new broker pledges for 2025, which aim to address key challenges faced by intermediaries. The pledges include a commitment to no dual pricing, ensuring brokers will always have access to Santander’s best pricing for purchase, remortgage, and product transfer clients.
Santander has also promised to give a minimum of 24 hours’ notice before withdrawing products, acknowledging that withdrawing products at short notice places pressure on brokers and their clients. The guaranteed notice period is designed to give brokers more confidence when recommending Santander’s products and provide additional time to contact clients who may be affected.
In addition, Santander plans to simplify the product transfer process by enhancing its online resources and updating maturity letters to direct clients back to their brokers when deals approach expiry.
“Our ambition is to make it easier than ever for our broker partners to do business with us,” said David Morris, head of homes at Santander UK.
While these measures seem to reaffirm Santander’s commitment to the UK mortgage market, recent reports have reignited uncertainty.
Speculation about Santander’s future in the UK began after rumours surfaced that the Spanish-headquartered bank was considering selling its UK business. Concerns grew when the bank’s chairman announced a surprise departure. However, Ana Botín, executive chair of Banco Santander, who oversees the UK unit, dismissed the speculation two weeks ago.
Despite these reassurances, The Financial Times has recently reported that Santander engaged in preliminary discussions with NatWest about a potential sale of its British retail operations. Although the talks reportedly took place last year, FT sources suggest that interest from both sides remains.
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