The HNW range will allow borrowers to use assets like pensions, investments, shares, real estate holdings, and items like fine art and classic cars when assessing their affordability.
The lender said Afin Premier would be suitable for asset-rich customers who may take a lower income than would normally be required for the size of the mortgage.
Afin Bank will account for the applicant’s independently verified net assets, or a mix of income and verified assets.
Afin Premier will be available to all brokers that the bank works with.
Tippie Malgwi (pictured), business development director for Afin Bank, who joined the firm to spearhead its HNW proposition, said: “This is another example of Afin Bank supporting under-served customers. Standard mortgage methodology understandably focuses on income, but for many HNW clients, their wealth and affordability is in their assets, as opposed to their earnings.
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“This means that a customer will benefit from bespoke affordability, taking into account their entire asset base. Lender solutions that only use a highly automated tickbox approach to mortgage applications are unlikely to be flexible enough to consider valuable assets when assessing affordability.”
Alan Davison, chief commercial officer for Afin Bank, added: “From speaking to brokers, they tell us the number of clients that fall into the HNW category is growing every year, especially when it comes to factors such as intergenerational wealth. However, their options for getting a mortgage are limited, as many mainstream lenders won’t support them and they don’t necessarily want to move to a private bank.
“Afin Premier embodies our mission to support customers who, because of their circumstances, are under-served by bigger lenders. At Afin, high-net-worth borrowers will be treated as individuals, with a straightforward and pragmatic approach to underwriting, to help them get the mortgage they need.”
Afin Bank launched last year and gained full approval in July this year for residential and buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages.
