Ian Balfour, CEO at SMS commented: “The most significant change is a reduction to the residential rate down to 1.8% plus BBR on its lifetime tracker with an ERC of 1% in the first year only.
“On the BTL side, intermediaries looking for the best overall deal need to remember that Bank of China has a set arrangement fee of £1,895 for BTL loans up to £500,000 and again the same ERC as residential loans. On a cost benefit analysis against its major competitors, Bank of China represents great value because it does not charge the arrangement fee as a percentage of the loan offered. Other BTL lenders ask for up to 3.5% of the loan amount which on a £500,000 loan would mean a fee of £17,500.”
He added: “It is also significant that Bank of China no longer requires a personal interview with prospective clients, which has led to improvements in time taken from application to offer.
“It is easy to see why Bank of China will be seen to be a major supporter of the intermediary channel in the years to come. I would urge L&G brokers who had been using Connect Mortgage Group to access Bank of China, to look to SMS to maintain their relationship with a lender which is going to make a big impact this year.”
SMS was the largest business producer for Bank of China in 2010. Ian Balfour said: “We were delighted to hear that thanks to our introducers, we were Bank of China’s biggest supporters last year. Bank of China is set to become a first option for the intermediary in residential and BTL lending in the UK and its latest product changes demonstrate that it is keen to expand its lending in 2011.”
