Santander has altered its proof of deposit requirements for residential or buy-to-let (BTL) applications, restricting countries and the types of bank accounts which are eligible for deposit funds.
The lender will no longer accept mortgage deposit funds from 34 countries, including gifted deposit applications.
These include Afghanistan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, China, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nicaragua, North Korea, Republic of Serbia, Russian Federation, Serbia & Montenegro, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Yemen, Zaire in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.
The lender added that it would not accept deposit funds from a child’s bank account, trustee account or foreign business bank account.
It said additional evidence, such as a donor letter providing further details, may be required for gifted deposit applications where the funds are received from abroad.
The changes will come into effect from Monday. Full mortgage applications submitted on Introducer Internet before 4 July will not be affected by these changes.
Applications will be assessed on the new rules from 6am on Monday 5 July.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
