The second part of the Help to Buy scheme launched today through Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest braches while Halifax and Bank of Scotland will offer its product in branch and through brokers from Friday.
So far today, two further banks have confirmed they will offer mortgages using the scheme. HSBC plans to launch its first Help to Buy products later this year while Virgin Money will enter the scheme in 2014.
The pair join Aldermore as future participants of the scheme after the fledgling lender announced plans to participate last week.
HSBC confirmed to Mortgage Solutions all of its Help to Buy mortgage sales would be advised and take place in branches, although the lender stated the government does not require Help to Buy mortgage cases to be advised. The lender will also ask borrowers to acknowledge a repayment illustration, which outlines how much payments will increase by when interest rates rise.
HSBC said it has made £5bn of funds available for mortgages above 75% LTV this year and planned to match that figure in 2014. As with the rest of its range, these mortgages will not be available through mortgage brokers.
Antonio Simoes, CEO of HSBC UK, said: “We want to support our home owning and home buying customers and recognise that particularly for first-time buyers, building the necessary deposit can be a real challenge.
“HSBC already offers some of the most competitive higher LTV mortgages in the market and currently promise to beat or match rates from our high street competitors at 90% LTV. By participating in Help to Buy, we will go further and offer mortgages up to 95% LTV.”
Click HERE for all today’s coverage on Help to Buy.
