Two lenders have joined forces with a London firm in a move aimed to increase mortgages
Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank have reached an agreement with UK-based professional services firm KMPG to provide its staff with preferential mortgage rates. KPMG announced the initiative to its employees last week as part of a private banking package with the two lenders.
The 12,000 KPMG employees will now have access to below-market average mortgage rates through the two lenders along with discounted travel insurance. “Owning a home is fast becoming a fairytale for all but society’s wealthiest,” said Simon Collins, UK chairman of KPMG. “We are working hard to raise the issue with policy makers and clients, but we also want to make a tangible difference to our staff who also face this problem.”
Clydesdale Bank has offered 95% mortgages for homes costing as much as £500,000 ($812,975), said Collins. This may explain why KPMG partnered with the bank by allowing employees to put down 5%, according to CNN.
The professional services firm hopes the new initiative addresses the increasingly high home prices in the UK, which could make recruitment for KPMG more difficult. The average home price in London in August was £476,000 ($773,807), a nearly 22% year-over-year increase, according to data from the Land Registry’s House Price Index.
Mortgage subsidies were a common practice for companies in the 1970s when interest rates were high.
The 12,000 KPMG employees will now have access to below-market average mortgage rates through the two lenders along with discounted travel insurance. “Owning a home is fast becoming a fairytale for all but society’s wealthiest,” said Simon Collins, UK chairman of KPMG. “We are working hard to raise the issue with policy makers and clients, but we also want to make a tangible difference to our staff who also face this problem.”
Clydesdale Bank has offered 95% mortgages for homes costing as much as £500,000 ($812,975), said Collins. This may explain why KPMG partnered with the bank by allowing employees to put down 5%, according to CNN.
The professional services firm hopes the new initiative addresses the increasingly high home prices in the UK, which could make recruitment for KPMG more difficult. The average home price in London in August was £476,000 ($773,807), a nearly 22% year-over-year increase, according to data from the Land Registry’s House Price Index.
Mortgage subsidies were a common practice for companies in the 1970s when interest rates were high.
