Bank sees mortgage applications soar

Published on Thursday 18 June 2009 15:05

The Co-operative Bank said today it had seen a 75% jump in mortgage applications following the launch of its best buy tracker deal.

The group is offering a three-year tracker at 2.39%, or 1.89% above the Bank of England base rate, for people with at least a 25% deposit who pay a 995 application fee.

It said in the two weeks since the loan was introduced on May 27, the value of mortgage applications it was receiving soared to an average of 63 million a week, compared with 36 million the week before the deal was available.

Terry Jordan, head of mortgages at the Co-operative Bank, said: "We have really seen a surge in demand for our new tracker, which offers a more generous loan-to-value (LTV) ratio than most of our competitors' lowest-priced products, at up to 75% LTV."

HSBC offers the next best variable rate product at 2.49% with a 245 fee, although this is only available to people with a 40% deposit, with NatWest offering the next best rate for a 75% LTV at 3.39% with a 799 fee. Both of these products are available over two years.

The Co-operative Bank's mortgage lending totalled 1.3 billion in 2008, up from 807 million in 2007.