Head of intermediary distribution Paul Adams said Santander had a ‘big mortgage lending appetite’ in 2015 and a significant part of that lending would come from the buy-to-let sector.
Speaking to brokers at The Buy to Let Market Forum in Birmingham, Adams said more than 80% of its buy-to-let business was originated through the intermediary channel.
In an interview in 2012 with Mortgage Solutions group editor Victoria Hartley, Phil Cliff, director of retail assets at the time, laid out the bank’s five-year growth plan for buy to let following its relaunch into the sector in December 2011.
Santander left the buy-to-let market in 2008 during the credit crisis.
Since its re-entry the lender has made several changes to its buy-to-let lending policy which have resulted in a loosening of criteria to attract more business for non-professional landlords.
During the panel debate on the first leg of The Buy To Let Market Forum in Cardiff, Ying Tan, managing director of the The Buy to Let Club, said Santander had the ability to challenge buy-to-let lending giants BM Solutions and TMW.
“It is not healthy to be so dependent on just two lenders,” said Tan.
In 2014, Santander’s total gross mortgage lending was £26.3bn up by 43% on 2013.
The lender made several changes to its buy-to-let criteria last year as it positioned itself to be a major player in landlord mortgages.
